FACTORS DETERMINING THE USE OF AND ACCESS TO BROADBAND CONNECTION IN EASTERN KENTUCKY COUNTIES.

• Author: Ahmadi, S. Ali

INTRODUCTION

Along with the rise in the prevalence of internet usage within the United States and worldwide, it becomes crucial to understand what factors impact the accessibility of the Internet for these people and limit it for others. In fact, 4.1 billion people utilize the internet; this question holds its importance (McDonald, 2018). There are several factors that might come to mind, and are supported in the literature, that influence internet accessibility, or lack thereof, including, but not limited to, education level, income, population size, and gender (McDonald, 2018).

Education levels and income were specifically researched for the purposes of this study and they provided varying results. Throughout this article, discussion will focus around the importance of internet access in the aspects of life in which it is most influential, in addition to how it impacts the country and, more specifically, the state of Kentucky (McDonald, 2018).

It is safe to assume nowadays that there exists a consensus that internet use and access is very important as the world develops and grows. There are several documented reasons for this. Perhaps the most common and everyday usage of the internet is for communication. Communication is fundamental to human functioning and daily life, and the internet is the most effective and far-reaching communication tool we have. Communication assists with educational attainment, reaching family members as needed, maintaining a social aspect of life, and job involvement, among many others. Each of these listed aspects, in which communication is crucial, is an important aspect of one's daily life. Today, communication is not always face-to-face; it is along with the growth of the Internet, communication is done more and more via using the Internet (Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet, 2018).

While research on this topic has been done before, it has not been explored with the state of Kentucky and its respective counties in full consideration. In addition, no study was found in the literature that has used regression models to explore these relationships. To fill this gap in the literature, this study was to investigate the factors determining the use and accessibility of broadband Internet in Kentucky. The focus of the study was to investigate which factor(s) have the significant impact on the accessibility of broadband Internet in Kentucky.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

People have adapted their ways of communication with the aid of their Internet accessibility, which is why this was worth mentioning. In addition to the case of communication, internet is also used politically to promote ideas and to gain support and followers. The political landscape has changed quite a bit in the last couple of decades. The internet has played a large role in this transformation. Particularly, social media is a serious factor in political campaigns and in what people think about issues (Satterfield, 2016).

News and media are largely accessible to wide crowds because of the prevalence of the internet in daily life. People can now see many angles of news topics and do not have to rely solely on one source to obtain their information, which is of course very helpful to maintain an unbiased and objective opinion regarding the global hot topics. The Internet is providing directions and maps in a few seconds. The Internet is also the best time pass option for us at the airport, in the car and train. The Internet is helping us to find a restaurant and hotel. Even if you have no idea what to eat today in breakfast, lunch, and dinner then you can search the best food recipes on the internet. The Internet is providing you freedom from food restrictions (Sharma 2019).

Another main reason that the internet is so crucial is its bearing on education matters. The Internet facilitates the use of new materials in curriculum that teachers can incorporate, and this allows students to have access to previously unavailable material (U.S. Department of Energy, 2018). Some classes are offered online which allow for schedule flexibility, and internet usage is a great research tool that again allows for expanded, in-depth knowledge. This is becoming widely accepted within the curriculum of high schools and universities as it allows for flexibility both for students and for educators. The internet allows educators to teach and share their information on a global platform (Center for Global Education, 2018).

Now, people can learn on their own without necessarily needing to attend a class or go to a university. Again, this provides flexibility and allows non-traditional students to have access to the resources they need in order to attain their proper education as well. Several universities offer "free courses on a variety of subjects that are accessible to anyone" and this allows people to learn without having to utilize their limited financial resources. If the internet can be used to cut the costs of educational attainment, soon it may be possible to see the internet as a great equalizer. This will be something that has the potential to change the educational system as it is known today.

In addition to impacting the education of people groups, another source describes the internet as a tool for trade, which implies that it can impact the economy. As the internet grows in its global accessibility, it is providing opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises, firms in developing countries which open doors for entities that previously have not had access to the global economy.

The internet can break down the barriers that stood between international trading and, as mentioned before, small businesses may now have access to different areas that may not have been available before. The use of the internet made business promotion is also much easier now. There are ways to purchase and sell things purely online and online advertising allows for small and large business promotion, and some businesses exist that are completely based online as well. Shopping has become easier through internet usage and consumers do not even need to leave the house when they want to compare prices or compare companies, which they wish to purchase products from. It is evident through the examples listed above that internet is very crucial to daily life in current societies. It is used for communication, education, global connections, and shopping eases among many other modes.

A large portion of research conducted on the topic of the internet centers around its level of accessibility as well as the factors that correlate with this accessibility. It stands to reason that there could be many factors that impact this accessibility, including but certainly not limited to, education level, age, gender, income, population size, or even ethnicity (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019).

Statistically, there are several factors that are important to mention and help back up the hypotheses that were shared above. Beginning with a more general note regarding internet usage in America, statistics and facts show that "about 76.2 percent of the U.S. population accessed the internet as of 2016" (Rayan, 2018). By age, broadband access is more prevalent among the range of 18-29 and seems to decrease as age increases (Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet, 2018). Gender is found to have little to any impact on accessibility, according to the Internet/Broadband...