PCs for the people

Sometimes in the rush to drive up broadband penetration, important facts get lost. Like, for example, the fact that some areas that lack broadband services are populated by those who don’t own computers.

That’s why the NTCA’s Rural PC Project makes so much sense. It’s a way of enabling rural telcos to jointly have the buying power of larger operators, such as AT&T and Verizon, which routinely promote their broadband services by giving away netbooks. The NTCA program, now in its pilot phase, subsidizes the purchase of netbooks, which are smaller, more mobile laptop computers that are less expensive. More importantly, it’s a means of putting computers into the hands of those in rural communities who may not be able to afford them...