Also seen as a barrier is the lack of reliable information on the Internet, with children lacking the ability to discern. The study is being expanded into a one-year project that will cover other areas, including the digital divide. National ISPs such as AOL generally lack the Internet points of presence to reach rural regions, and rural users who do use the national ISPs often have to pay toll charges to call access numbers.
Service providers are reluctant to move into sparsely populated and therefore unprofitable regions.
However, rural areas may benefit from the efforts of some broadband providers that are now working to offer DSL through line-sharing deals with local phone companies and reseller agreements with ISPs. Emerging wireless technologies might also help. Cable companies may benefit from a new initiative to promote the Internet to minority households in the U.S. and to provide the computer equipment, Internet connections and training needed to get them online. A new study by Telecommunications Reports International states that only 2.3 million homes use broadband Internet service. Cable companies will be involved in the project's first phase, which includes a television ad campaign.