By: Marrian Zhou
TechRepublic
09/14/2018

It isn’t related to household income or educational level.

Access to high-speed internet is still a struggle in rural communities.

Fifty-eight percent of rural Americans said it’s difficult to access fast internet in their communities, according to a blog post published by the Pew Research Center on Monday. Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of rural adults see this as a major problem, while 34 percent see it as a minor problem.

Trouble accessing high-speed internet cuts across economic divides in rural areas. A fifth of adults whose households earn less than $30,000 a year and almost a quarter (23 percent) of those whose annual income is $75,000 or more said high-speed internet is difficult to get. Differences in educational background weren’t a factor either.

Americans living in rural areas have fewer options than people in cities when it comes to broadband internet because only a handful of companies provide the service in rural neighborhoods. In January, President Trump pushed for more high-speed broadband in rural areas, but his administration didn’t outline anything specific for broadband deployment or funding.

Click here to read the original post in cnet.com.