An interesting meme that's circulating now that we've finally decided to map broadband coverage and improve our completely mediocre global rankings in broadband price, speed, and availability -- is that broadband coverage gaps exist not because of a failure of industry or government -- but simply because people don't want broadband. Having been covering the industry and listening to broadband users for going on a decade, we can, without reservation, tell you that's the dumbest thing we've ever heard.

The meme, which pops up several times a week in one form or another, is solely based on a recent Pew Internet and Life survey (pdf) of 4,254 people done last year, which found that 19% of dial-up users say nothing would get them to switch, and 33% of non-Internet users (8.3% of adults) say they're not interested in getting online at all.

Of course that simply means that we have a lot of Luddites and a lot of low-income Americans, not that there aren't still serious issues with broadband penetration. Most of the ridiculous national broadband coverage estimates we're seeing tossed around lately (anywhere from 91-97%) either come from independently unconfirmed industry data, intentionally shined upward to keep regulators at bay, or from the FCC, whose flawed data methodology is well discussed. The truth is, nobody knows how wired we are for broadband, because no matter what pundits or carriers tell you: nobody in the federal government has actually checked.

In response, consumer group Free Press is doing something that most of the pundits, lobbyists and politicians have never done -- actually going into rural America to explore coverage gaps. The group is posting a series of video interviews with rural North Carolina residents this week as part of a piece called Five Days on the Digital Dirt Road.

30 percent or more of North Carolina's population in 21 rural counties (roughly five million residents) do not have high-speed Internet connectivity. The State has lost 120,200 jobs in the last year, and North Carolina's unemployment rate has reached 8.7%. "Replacing these lost jobs with opportunities offered by the Internet – home-based businesses, telecommuting, and bringing current businesses into the digital age – could help save America’s economy, and stabilize the lives of people floundering in places like North Carolina," insists the group.

While broadband is absolutely not an economic panacea, it certainly helps. A state grass roots effort named the E-NC Authority has been working to shore up North Carolina's coverage gaps for years, and was one of the first outfits in the country to craft broadband maps. Interestingly, they're now facing competition for that service by Connected Nation, an industry-backed policy group that's been under increased criticism for being built to obfuscate the nation's coverage issues -- not resolve them.

Free Press tells us they'll next be looking at gaps in Washington DC, to dispel the myth that coverage issues are an exclusively rural problem.