Flamm, K. (2006). Diagnosing the Disconnected: Where and Why is Broadband Access Unavailable in the U.S.. The 34th Research Conference on Communication, Information and Internet Policy, Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (TPRC). Arlington, VA.
http://web.si.umich.edu/tprc/papers/2006/588/flammbb0806.pdf
This paper discusses the results of a preliminary statistical analysis of where and why broadband is unavailable in the United States. Early results seem to suggest that state-level policies seem to have played a role in accelerating or holding back broadband development. Income and wealth, as well as the absolute local market size (but not population density) also seem to be variables affecting access to or the availability of broadband.
Finally, the eRate (Universal Service Fund) program for schools and libraries seems to have had a positive impact on reducing areas without broadband service. A useful section of the paper is on how the FCC measures broadband availability (p. 5), and some general challenges to the process of making this estimate.
