ABSTRACT
Much research suggests that information and communication technologies (ICTs) offer the potential to eliminate the ‘friction of distance’ in terms of location and social interaction (see Lægran, 2002; Valentine and Holloway, 2001; Graham, 1997). ICTs may be able to overcome the constraints that a remote location can impose on access to certain services and types of information. As a result, ICTs have particular relevance to rural areas, traditionally characterised in terms of their economic and social peripherality (Ward, 1990; Skerratt, 2003). Thus, it can be argued that ICTs have the scope to eliminate the importance of physical proximity to a whole host of economic, social, cultural and political activities, thereby making rural areas more attractive locations for businesses, services and people.
