About a year ago, I wrote a column comparing broadband internet to electricity when it was made available to the rural community in the 1930s. It is hard to understate how rural life changed when power lines and telephone lines began to find their way down county roads.

Since that article, I’ve had several conversations with farmers and rural residents and installers about broadband. It’s clear the majority of people want broadband, but the trick is getting to those sites in a cost-effective way. And since 55 percent of our rural residents do not have access to broadband yet, there is potential.

Jeff Burbrink is an educator with Purdue Extension Elkhart County. He can be reached at 574-533-0554 or jburbrink@purdue.edu.

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