Many communities, particularly rural communities, across the United States are looking at developing their telecommunications environment as a way to revitalize and diversify their local economies as well as to build social capital and improve the quality of life. While it is not clear at this point how communities will leverage next generation Internet technologies or which application and/or services communities will embrace (or develop, for that matter), it is clear that the activities surrounding next generation networks will have a significant impact on community life. Indeed, most communities today recognize the economic, political and social benefits that information and communication technologies (ICT) can provide.

This section of the bibliography provides a collection of material dedicated to social and political aspects of information technology.