A review of the economic impact of broadband on businesses in regional and rural communities

The widespread use of broadband is expected to result in substantial economic benefits in Australia in Australia, but is likely on individual businesses in regional and remote areas is unclear. This paper reviews research on broadband at the national, regional, community and business levels to discuss its expected impact on business in regional and remote communities. Improvements in both productivity and employment and reported at all levels including remote communities. Individual business benefits from more efficient operations, better communication, reduced costs, higher staff satisfaction, opportunities to innovate and, in some cases, improvements in marketing. Changes in business operations do not appear to adversely affect local employment or population, so the overall impact on business in smaller communities appears to be beneficial.