Broadband access is a key ingredient for encouraging innovation and building a local tech-based economy, according to the State Science and Technology Institute. Access for small businesses in many rural areas remains out of reach.

The New Hampshire Rural Development Council issued a Master Plan to change that for 163,191 business and residential users in the northern portion of the state. BPL is not explicitly recommended -- the report is more of a framework for implementation planning.

The U.S. is falling behind its global competitors in terms of information and communications technology readiness, according to the fourth annual Global Information Technology Report, released in March, 2005, by the World Economic Forum. Singapore ranks as the top economy in exploiting information and communications technology, while the U.S. dropped to fifth.

Australia announced last month the federal government's plan to spend more than $300 million to deploy high-speed Internet throughout the country for the delivery of government services and to create new market opportunities.

Funding for programs to support rural broadband deployment in the U.S., on the other hand, could see cuts in excess of 30 percent based on the Administration's FY 2006 budget request.