Research on rural communication and the microcomputer controlled modem and telephone

Abstract

Rural areas have a high variance in quality of life attributes. Despite positive attributes such as quiet, clean air, woods, lakes, slower pace and other amenities, there are numerous negative attributes stemming from isolation, such as limited numbers of stimulating jobs, reduced access to educational, cultural and entertainment opportunities, reduced peer interaction, and other positive attributes of urban life. Modern communications media, such as telephone, mail, newspapers, magazines, radio and television, have helped, but there is still a lack of rapid, inexpensive, convenient, non-interruptive two-way communication facilities for rural use. Computer controlled telephones promise to remedy this situation in the near future. Microcomputer controlled data communication over telephone lines should produce a major improvement in quality of life in rural areas. This paper describes how this may come about, examines technical and economic problems in the way, and describes research being carried out at North Dakota State University to solve these problems. The work is part of a project called RAIN (Rural Agricultural Information Network) sponsored jointly by the North Dakota State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension. The research centers on the development of adaptive software that allows a computer running UNIX (Thompson 1974 and Crowley 1978) to login on another computer and run programs there, as if the UNIX system were an ordinary time-sharing user. This capability allows the UNIX system to communicate with computers that are unprepared to communicate with it! In a rural environment where most computers will be owned by individuals, such capabilities are likely to be critical. In the course of the work it has become clear that some of the problems stem from the inadequacies of present data communications equipment, especially telephone interfaces and modems. These are outlined. A conceptual design is sketched for a highly adaptive computer controlled modem that would speed progress in rural data communication. The potential applications and value of such a modem are presented.