Blessings in Disguise: How Disasters Can Save Small-Town America by Facilitating Broadband Service Expansion

Abstract

Broadband is a critical part of modern infrastructure but is not available to all Americans and is lacking in rural communities. This is illustrated by the fact that in 2019, 42 million Americans (13% of the population) were without high-speed internet access – in contrast with universal access to indoor plumbing and electricity. This disparity contributes to a widening gap in educational and employment opportunities between rural and urban communities as well as a decline in rural populations. My research sought to examine the hypothesis that expanded broadband infrastructure deployed as part of federally funded disaster recovery efforts provides a mechanism for increasing rural population sustainability by increasing educational participation and increasing access to employment opportunities. Household level data from the American Community Survey (ACS) and the US Census Bureau were combined with disaster relief information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to evaluate the relationships between storms and broadband and between broadband and community sustainability variables. Linear regression analysis confirmed that broadband access: 1) is negatively impacted by natural disasters and that this effect is more pronounced in rural areas, 2) is a significant driver of population growth in rural areas, 3) increases school attendance in rural areas, and 4) drives entry into the labor market and obtaining employment – with a greater impact at lower education levels. Taken together, the results of this research point to a clear, positive impact to rural community sustainability that can be gained by accelerating the expansion of broadband access following a natural disaster. The results could help government agencies evaluate the social benefits and cost effectiveness of including broadband deployment in parallel with the reconstruction of the electricity grid after a natural disaster. The results can also be used to inform the policy changes in the Stafford Act that will be necessary to allow for federal post-disaster recovery funds to be allocated to the construction of new broadband infrastructure.