There's the virtual rural America in the Facebook game "Farmville," and there's the real world. Rural communities need to be sure that broadband technology doesn't displace the good of the real world with that of the virtual.

In many of the current discussions on rural broadband development, it is generally assumed that what is good for rural areas is good for the nation as well. And vice versa — that what is good for the nation will necessarily be beneficial for rural areas, too.

Such homogenizing optimism is frequently found among those who believe that rural broadband is the Heinz 57 sauce of development. Broadband will, either directly or indirectly, have a positive impact on matters economic, civic, infrastructural, educational, and health-related at both the national and local/rural levels. All at the same time.

Broadband is one-size-fits-all development!

While there may be cause for such exuberance in some cases, there’s another alternative, one that is far less attractive. It’s also possible that the benefits achieved in some areas are purchased only at the expense of declines or drawbacks in other places. Indeed, a quick glance at the historical record suggests that that any belief that technological development is an unalloyed good warrants a healthy dose of skepticism. 

Russell Lee/Library of Congress Like these jitterbug contestants (Yuma, Arizona, 1942), community broadband networks and utility smart-grids are meant to move together.

The Department of Energy last month announced 100 stimulus grants totaling $3.4 billion for smart grid projects. You may not be familiar with smart grids, but if your community hopes to build its own broadband network you should be. The companies now poised to build these new utility systems could be invaluable partners in supplying high-speed Internet.

Smart grids are the latest incarnation of a concept that originated in the 1990s. Utility companies then were looking for some way to improve meter reading. Instead of sending people out on foot to chart residential water, gas and electric utility meters -- often stymied by rough weather, locked gates or angry dogs -- companies figured that wireless technology could simplify the job.

Initially, wireless devices that sat on meters collected usage data and allowed workers driving down the road to transfer the information to on-board computers, then to servers when they returned to the office. This process evolved into an automated meter infrastructure (AMI). AMI captures data as frequently as needed from residential and community “smart” meters without human intervention. AMI makes it possible to slice and dice the data thin or thick and enables communication from the office to the meters themselves.

These capabilities help utilities cut costs, increase revenue and smooth out business operations. The two-way communication also enables utility customers to receive data to manage their use of water and energy better, a big help in reducing customers’ bills and improving conservation.