40 Acres and a Good Broadband Connection

Published: Jan. 20, 2016, 7 p.m.

In the 1860s, the progressive thinkers of the time felt that giving newly freed people their own land and leading edge technology \u2013 in this case, a mule \u2013 would jump start the poor on a journey to a better life. 150 years later, we are dealing with similar issues as we try to bridge the economic gap with the leading edge technology of our time \u2013 broadband. Will we find our way this time?\n\nColin Rhinesmith, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at University of Oklahoma, and Brian Whitacre, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics\xa0at Oklahoma State University\xa0conducted excessive research on how to get better broadband adoption rates within low-income, seniors and youth populations. They join us to discuss their findings and explore options for getting these populations on board with broadband.\n\nRhinesmith and Whitacre describe one\xa0category of people who don\u2019t use broadband as the Un-Adopters, and present why policymakers and federal agencies that fund broadband must develop strategies\xa0for addressing Un-Adopters. They\xa0address this category in the context of non-adopters, and the country overall.\n\nWe also will explore the downside of leaving Un-Adopters un-served. Could the cost of getting these constituents on board with broadband be better spent in other ways given how small the segments is? Given the effort of getting un-adopters and non- doctors to use broadband, what are some of the downsides and upsides if we are successful? Our guests\xa0present compelling reasons why policymakers must not leave these constituents out in the cold.