Rural broadband could bring in at least $47 billion annually in nationwide economic benefits, says USDA report - Entrepreneur Generations

Expanding rural broadband to farms and ranches nationwide could result in at least $47 billion in national economic benefits every year, according to a report on rural broadband released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture today.

The report, A Case for Rural Broadband, is part of the USDA's ongoing efforts to expand rural broadband. The agency also recently launched a $600 million pilot program that awards loans and/or grants to rural communities to build out their own broadband networks.

The report also found that, if broadband and digital technologies were widely available in rural areas, the U.S. economy could get a boost equal to about 18 percent of the nation's total agricultural production. Such digital technologies usher in what the report calls Next Generation Precision Agriculture, in which farmers use precise, frequently updated data on their lands and crops for more accurate planting, feeding and watering, pest management and harvesting. 

Some NGPA tech doesn't require broadband at all, the report notes, but says that, as technology advances, farmers will not only need faster download speeds, but faster and "more symmetrical" upload speeds too. The Federal Communications Commission's definition of high-speed internet is 25 megabits per second for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads.

from The Rural Blog http://bit.ly/2DHd7kj Rural broadband could bring in at least $47 billion annually in nationwide economic benefits, says USDA report - Entrepreneur Generations

Posted by Entrepreneur Generations

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