One way this is dealt with in the US is through the FCC's Universal Service mandate, which since the 1996 Telecom Act includes subsidies for PANS as well as POTS. I don't know about amounts spent, though I do know that as a resident on a country road in a rural area in southwest Virginia served by a small independent phone company, I am a beneficiary, paying less for broadband than my in-laws in metro NJ. You can find more info. at the FCC's site: http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/tapd/universal_service/ Christopher J. Richter Associate Professor Communication Studies Hollins University PO Box 9652 Roanoke, VA 24020 540-362-6358 ________________________________________ From: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Peter Timusk [ptimusk@sympatico.ca] Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 6:36 PM To: aoir list Subject: [Air-L] Stimulus spending on brodband In Canada our countries budget just passed or will pass tomorrow. It includes stimulus spending on broadband for rural areas any thoughts on this? Can other nationals in other countries report you regions spending on Internet and of course the climate for research spending on Internet? Peter Timusk, B.Math statistics (2002), B.A. legal studies (2006) Carleton University Systems Science Graduate student, University of Ottawa (2006-2010). just trying to stay linear. Read by hundreds of lurkers every week. _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/