The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released the first quarterly report on the progress of the national broadband plan stipulated in the economic stimulus package. The report highlights the timetable for the grant application process and the beginning of a 7.2 billion-dollar federal investment in improving America's nationwide broadband services. Read More »
At Tuesday's hearing on Why Broadband Matters before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, one theme that arose again and again was the power of high speed Internet to help less-advantaged people across the U.S. Of course, the problem is that people who could benefit the most from this technology -- such as low-income, rural, and elderly Americans -- are also the least likely to have access. Read More »
Elderly and chronically ill patients are turning to telehealth home-monitoring services to reduce office and hospital visits, curb costs and possibly lead to better patient outcomes. Read More »
The Alliance for Public Technology has just released a new report, Broadband Initiatives: Enhancing Lives and Transforming Communities, which documents examples of how high speed networks have changed the lives, and saved the lives, of individuals and communities in ways that many of us could not have even imagined 5 years ago. In a short video, Dr. Curtis Lowery, of the ANGELS program in Arkansas, explains how rural women who never would have had access to pre-natal care now can access it locally. Read More »
This summer The Children's Partnership, national nonprofit child advocacy organization, published a report about high speed internet access and children with disabilities. The report concludes that while high speed connections are important for all American families, those with children who have physical and learning disabilities can benefit even more. Read More »
High speed internet holds a lot of promise for improving the lives of the deaf and hard of hearing. Videophone service allows them to converse without relying on traditional methods like teletypewriters and texting services that are slow and awkward. Read More »
For our nation's deaf, finding easy ways to communicate throught the channels the rest of us take for granted has been a constant challenge -- but that's changing. High speed internet has made new video conferencing tools possible, opening new and exciting doors of dialogue. Read More »
Interpreters for the deaf can serve more clients -- if they gain access to high-speed teleconferences provided via broadband. Read More »
Advances made through audio technology can improve opportunities and overcome barriers for the visually impaired.
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