Connecting Rural Communities Resources 

Assessment Tools

• CENIC Self Assessment Guide for Communities
  Resources and supplementary materials to aid in conducting a successful community assessment. PDF format or HTML
• Conducting a Community Assessment
  A good tool to read and understand why we need assessments and how communities can use them for more than just technology. This particular reference focuses on schools, children and family, however, there are good suggestions for where to get data, how to engage community members, questions to ask when conducting focus groups, community forums, interviews and surveys.
• Connect Kentucky - Community Benchmarking Tool
  This guide is designed to provide a benchmark for your community's current readiness to participate in the changes that high-speed communications entail. More importantly, this guide provides a vision of specific steps and actions for your community.
• Preparing for a Collaborative Community Assessment
  A good resource that explains why assessments are important for communities and identifies the steps involved in the process.

Benefits of Broadband

• The Telework Coalition
  The Telework Coalition provides resources and information about the practice and benefits of Teleworking.

Broadband Applications

• Accela, Inc.
  After the Storm: How New Orleans Leveraged Accela Software for Disaster Recovery

Broadband for Business

• Broadband Use by Rural Small Business
  Business needs broadband and rural America has less access
• How E-commerce Works

Case Studies

• Columbus Internet
  Community site for Columbus, KS
• Columbus Telephone Company
  A rural telephone cooperative builds a fiber network and has been offering triple play since December 2004
• National Center for Small Communities
  Click on new resources on the left sidebar to access the Thriving Hometowns Network, a searchable database of more than 50 community and economic development case studies drawn from small communities.
• Saint Peter Advantage
  A site devoted to attracting business and investment for the community of Saint Peter, MN.

Community Networks

• Association for Community Networking
  Resources and tips to help communities effectively use information and communication technologies
• Communities of the Future
  A network of people working in collaboration to develop new concepts of governance, economic development, and education/learning for a fast-paced, interconnected, and increasingly complex society
• New Democracy
  Communities, technology, and local governance issues
• The BEV Digital Library
  Community network design and development information
• UTOPIA: Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency
  UTOPIA is a consortium of 14 Utah cities engaged in deploying and operating a 100% fiber optic network to every business and household (about 140,000) within its footprint.

Globalization/International

• Click Z Stats
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
  OECD's section on "Telecommunications and Internet Policy" including statistics, publications and information by country
• United Nation's Benchmarking Tool
  Tools to assess a countries information communication technology capability and compare indicators with other countries

Glossaries

• Glossary of Frequently Used Telecommunications Terms
• Glossary of Telecommunications & Technology Terms

Guides

• Access eBroadband
• Applied Rural Telecom Resource Guide
  The Guide provides rural communities throughout the United States and the world a toolkit of resources to help them meet their economic and community development goals using telecommunications.
• Making the Net Work
  Resources to help organizations or communities plan and use the Net effectively. This site offers sets of workshop games, a routemap for planning development, and other tools.

Law

• BitLaw: A Resource on Technology Law
  A comprehensive Internet resource on technology law, containing patent, copyright, trademark, and Internet legal issues.

Other Resources

• Charting the Future of Our Community
  This resource can help you understand and implement events that will build consensus for planning your connected community's future.
• Design Nine
  Site offers broadband and telecom planning, design, and project management services, the resources section is a great tool for anyone who wants to learn more.
• Digital Divide Network
  "The Internet's largest community for educators, activists, policy makers and concerned citizens working to bridge the digital divide"
• NTCA: National Telecommunications Cooperative Association
  The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), "the voice of rural telecommunications," is the premiere non-profit association representing more than 560 small and rural telephone cooperatives and commercial companies.

Policy

• Exploring Policy Options for a New Rural America
  Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City resource section inluding several articles focused on policy for Rural America
• Federal Communications Commission
  Federal regulatory agency that has the most direct impact on broadband policy
• How a bill becomes a law
  How a bill becomes a law and other links related to policy and regulation
• National Telecommunications and Information Administration
  The NTIA is the President's principal adviser on telecommunications and information policy issues
• U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
  News and hearings related to telecommunications and broadband policies
• U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
  News and updates from the subcommittee on Technology, Innovation and competitiveness

Public Interest Groups

• Aspen Institute
  Aspen's Communications and Society Program promotes integrated, thoughtful, values-based decision making in the fields of communications and includes several good resources.
• Benton Foundation
  The mission of the Benton Foundation is to articulate a public interest vision for the digital age and to demonstrate the value of communications for solving social problems.
• Media Access Project
  A public interest telecommunications law firm which promotes the public's First Amendment right to hear and be heard on the electronic media of today and tomorrow
• New American Foundation
  The New American Foundation sponsors a wide rang of research, one program of interest is the Wireless Future Program.

Statistics

• Broadband reports from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
  A Nation Online: Entering the Broadband Age is the sixth report released by the NTIA examining the use of computers, the Internet, and other information technology tools by the American people. The previous five reports issued in 2002, 2000, 1999, 1998 & 1995 are also linked to this site.
• Broadband Use by Rural Small Business
  A report issued by the U.S. Small Business Administration provides detail on the rural digital divide. The results indicate that without increased broadband access rural economies could miss out on higher levels of growth and job creation.
• Broadband Wireless Exchange
  Information about wireless ISPs, Wi-Fi and broadband wireless technology
• Pew Internet & American Life Project
  Ongoing surveys and topical studies

Technology

• Cable Modem Basics
  Several links about cable modem and DSL technology
• Current Communications
  Site includes online video about broadband over power lines
• Daily Wireless
  Wireless broadband information
• How Cable Modems Work
• How DSL works
  A simple explanation of how DSL works
• How fiber optics work
• How Internet infrastructure works
• How Satellites Work
• ISP PLanet
  Resources and information for ISPs and Internet Access Providers
• National Cable and Telecommunications Association
  The principal trade association of the cable television industry in the United States, resources and statistics provide more information about cable technologies as well as policy and legal affairs.
• Packet Switching
  A demo of packet switching
• Satellite Signals
  Information and additional links about using satellite internet
• The Basics of Fiber Optic Cable
  Brief overview of the advantages of fiber optic cable over copper wires
• The evolving national information network: technology primer
  Commission on Preservation and Access technology primer
• WISP Centric
  Great resources for Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPS) on anyone thinking about starting a WISP