24
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BROADBAND COMMUNITIES
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www.broadbandcommunities.com
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Small Businesses
And the Digital Divide
The digital divide between larger and smaller businesses represents a lost opportunity
for small businesses to become more competitive and to grow. It is also a lost
opportunity for local economies to create wealth and jobs.
By Michael Curri / Strategic Networks Group
T
hough the frst step in benefting from
broadband is connecting to the Internet
with a reliable, high-speed connection,
the most crucial and sometimes elusive stage
in broadband development is utilization.
Tis means using the Internet in increasingly
productive ways that bring concrete benefts,
such as new revenues and cost savings to
businesses and new jobs and improved quality
of life for communities. Strategic Networks
Group (SNG) diferentiates between adoption
(registering or signing up for Internet service)
and utilization (leveraging benefts in ongoing
business operations from Internet applications).
A consistent pattern has emerged from SNG's
research across many states: Smaller businesses,
no matter the industry sector, are less likely than
larger businesses to truly comprehend how the
Internet can beneft them. In fact, the smaller a
business is, the less it capitalizes on the benefts
E-SOLUTIONS CATEGORIES FOR BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS
e-Commerce Related e-Process Related
Selling goods or services Purchasing goods or services
Delivering services and content
Communicating and coordinating with
clients
Posting multimedia and interactive content Transferring electronic documents
Providing customer service and support Training staf and developing skills
Advertising and promoting Teleworking
Social networking Accessing collaborative tools
Maintaining organizational website
Conducting banking and fnancial
transactions
Conducting research by staf Conducting government transactions
Accessing government information
Table 1: E-Solutions measured by SNG