If there has been one constant in the ever changing broadband landscape over the last decade, it has been that rural broadband users get the short end of the stick. When you're not busy getting sold by massive incumbent ISPs who don't think you're worth serving, you're getting gobbled up by smaller ISPs who think 5 gigabytes of monthly consumption is some kind of cardinal sin. For many rural broadband users, their only solution is satellite broadband, where being throttled back to sub-dial up speeds is a fairly common occurrence.

A new study indicates that those hoping that broadband stimulus funds will cure your rural broadband blues are in for a disappointment:Of course the broadband stimulus funds are only a small part of the FCC's broadband plan, which they'll be unveiling in full in February. It's not clear how the FCC hopes to address the nation's rural (and non-rual) coverage gaps, but they have a steep uphill climb to get there. The nation's biggest carriers don't want to serve much of rural America because it's expensive. At the same time, they lobby extensively to make sure nobody else does either -- in these ISPs change their mind someday. There's 65 days until the FCC unveils their national broadband plan, and the biggest threat to rural broadband users -- remains incumbent ISP lobbyists.