However, the issue of skills and technical expertise is growing as technological advances mushroom the array of choices available. In evaluating a rural community's technological requirements, one must not only consider a community's own economic activities, but also and increasingly the activities of its competitors, whether they be businesses in urban areas or in other countries. Coaxial cable is available in some areas, but satellite and microwave radio technology have limited bandwidth and delay times. This demand-based contrast between urban and rural areas has enormous implications for public policy. Many rural schools would be unable to access the Internet and other computer and video-based services.
Rural incomes are generally well below urban incomes.
In addition to the increased cost for telecommunications service, a customer would also have to have computer and other capabilities to make use of them. As Weinhaus et al. Subsidies for rural service conflict with the competitive environment created by the National Communications Competition and Information Infrastructure Act of 1994. In states and areas with flat terrain, telecommunications upgrades to fiber-optic quality has been relatively easy and inexpensive. Iowa, Nebraska and other states in the Great Plains have been widely-cited as pioneers in rural broadband service.