The Diffusion of Internet Technologies to Rural Communities: A Portrait of Broadband Supply and Demand

Brian E. Whitacre · 2010 · American Behavioral Scientist

Summary. Rural Oklahoma communities face persistent digital divides driven primarily by demand-side factors rather than infrastructure gaps. While telecommunications companies underinvest in rural areas due to low population density, the study finds that infrastructure availability contributes only minimally to broadband access disparities. However, infrastructure's importance grows as Internet knowledge spreads, suggesting that supply-side investments become more critical as rural demand increases.

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Whitacre, B. E.. (2010). The Diffusion of Internet Technologies to Rural Communities: A Portrait of Broadband Supply and Demand. American Behavioral Scientist. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764210361684

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  title   = {The Diffusion of Internet Technologies to Rural Communities: A Portrait of Broadband Supply and Demand},
  author  = {Brian E. Whitacre},
  journal = {American Behavioral Scientist},
  year    = {2010},
  doi     = {10.1177/0002764210361684},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764210361684}
}

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Details

DOI: 10.1177/0002764210361684
Countries: United States
Regions: North America
Categories: broadband-and-digital, regional-innovation-systems
Added: 2026-04-28