Broadband

Blog Post

Senior couple attending online meeting with doctor on digital tablet, doing remote consultation at home.

Digital Access Deficiencies in Rural Health Care Deserts: Identifying a Role for Telehealth

Regional Matters

October 31, 2024

Telehealth offers a potential opportunity to support health care access in rural communities, but the digital divide in access to broadband and devices shows that these underserved communities face lower access to health care.

Adam Scavette and Alvaro Sánchez

Blog Post

How to Bridge the Digital Divide? Assessing the Affordable Connectivity Program

Regional Matters

September 15, 2022

The newly established Affordable Connectivity Program subsidizes broadband subscription for low-income households. It may better reach targeted households by learning from other federal benefit programs.

Adam Scavette
Regional Economist

Article

A Unique Moment for Small Towns

Econ Focus

Second Quarter 2022

Small towns have an opportunity to address challenges from health care to transportation, but there are barriers to accessing funding.

Tom Barkin
President and Chief Executive Officer

Article

Scene with church peeking out of a large amount of trees

Employment Barriers in the Rural Fifth District

Econ Focus

Second Quarter 2022

Numerous factors — including population growth, education, housing, transportation, child care, health, and broadband availability — are shaping the differences in employment outcomes between rural and urban communities.

Stephanie Norris, Jessie Romero, Sierra Stoney and Sonya Ravindranath Waddell

Podcast

Continuing the Conversation: Regional Collaboration Across County Lines

Speaking of the Economy

May 25, 2022

Kelly Bowers, economic development director for Hertford County, N.C., discusses the challenges and opportunities facing her community. She highlights the importance of collaboration across state lines and the need for infrastructure such as broadband and affordable housing to support growth.

Blog Post

Picture of green landscape with electrical tower located towards the right

The End of the Digital Divide? The Future of Broadband Post-Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)

Regional Matters

March 3, 2022

Congress allocated $65 billion for broadband in the IIJA, but bridging the digital divide will require cooperation among federal, state and local actors.

Adam Scavette
Regional Economist

Article

After the Infrastructure Bill

Econ Focus

First Quarter 2022

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will bring billions of dollars to Fifth District states and communities, including small towns and rural areas.

Sam Louis Taylor

Speech

Small Towns Making It Work

Sept. 29, 2021

President Tom Barkin shares innovative strategies and success stories from small towns around the Fifth District.

Tom Barkin
President, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Blog Post

Rural Spotlight: Bringing Broadband to Maryland’s Eastern Shore

Regional Matters

July 15, 2021

Choptank Electric Cooperative on Maryland's Eastern Shore is an example of how many electric cooperatives are providing broadband service in rural communities.

Alexander Marre and Alexander Nikolov

Podcast

Rural Spotlight: Bringing Broadband to Maryland's Eastern Shore

Speaking of the Economy

July 15, 2021

Tim McGaha of Choptank Electric Cooperative offers his perspective on the company's program to bring broadband Internet to rural communities in Maryland.

Speech

young student learning from a remote tutor

My Top Takeaways From District Dialogues

June 29, 2021

President Tom Barkin shares what he learned from conversations with educators and policymakers about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students.

Tom Barkin
President, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Podcast

Breaking Down the Barriers to Broadband Access

Speaking of the Economy

May 26, 2021

Alex Marré of the Richmond Fed and Anna Read from Pew Charitable Trusts discuss maximizing broadband resources and preview the Broadband Summit on June 8.

Blog Post

COVID-19 Remote Learning Exposes the Digital Divide

Regional Matters

March 25, 2021

K-12 remote learning exposes divisions in access to digital resources. A federal broadband service subsidy and new satellite technology may help bridge the gap.

Alexander Marre

Podcast

Closing the Digital Divide

Speaking of the Economy

Dec. 2, 2020

Alex Marré discusses the ongoing challenges of bringing broadband Internet service to everyone who needs it.

Article

Closing the Digital Divide

Econ Focus

Second/Third Quarter 2020

Digital connections have become more important in a time of social distancing, but rural broadband access still lags behind cities.

Tim Sablik

Blog Post

The Homework Gap: Digital Access at Home for Students in the Fifth District

Regional Matters

August 28, 2020

The digital access "homework gap" most severely affects students in poor households and is compounded in rural areas by a lack of broadband internet infrastructure.

Alaina Lee and Alexander Marre

Speech

Moving the Needle in Smaller Towns

Oct. 2, 2019

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin discussed economic differences between small towns and urban areas at the Investing in Rural America conference.

Tom Barkin
President, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Blog Post

Defining Broadband Coverage: It's Complicated

Regional Matters

July 15, 2019

How serious is the digital divide across the country and in the Fifth District? It depends on who you ask.

Emily Wavering Corcoran and Sam Storey