FCC National Broadband Plan Executive Director Blair Levin recently spoke at the National Press Club on the need for expanded funding for programs aimed at getting more older Americans online. Read More »
The FCC announced its key broadband agenda items for the coming year — outlining the steps it plans to take to strengthen high-speed Internet availability in the United States. Read More »
Increased transparency, quality of service, and availability would make low-income residents more likely to adopt broadband Internet service, says a report recently commissioned by the Federal Communications Commission. Read More »
On January 15, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announced the availability of $4.8 billion of funding for grants and loans to expand broadband access and adoption in America. This is the second round of funding that was allotted as part of the 2009 economic stimulus bill. Read More »
Between December 22 and December 31, The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced an additional twenty broadband mapping and planning grants in eighteen states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Read More »
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced $3.4 million in grants to improve Internet connections of public libraries in Kansas, Arkansas, New York, Virginia, and Massachusetts. Through the Opportunity Online program, the Foundation will partner with fourteen additional states to help libraries compete for broadband stimulus funds. Read More »
Speed Matters partner Connected Nation conducted scientific surveys of library Internet users during much of 2009. Disproportionately, single parents, minorities, low-income residents, and adults with disabilities rely on the public library as their primary Internet portal. Library Internet users are more likely to search for jobs online, communicate with government officials, engage in local and community events, and access healthcare information. Read More »
Two hundred library leaders, community activists, and broadband providers gathered in San Antonio on October 8 for the Texas Opportunity Online Broadband Summit, sponsored by Speed Matters partner Connected Nation. Attendees discussed how technology, policy, and community partnerships can improve broadband access to Texas' public libraries. Read More »
Public libraries are packed with job seekers waiting to use the Internet to search for job postings, update resumes, and fill out online forms. According to the American Library Association, seven out of ten libraries say they are the only public source of Internet access in their community - and job searching without the Internet is becoming increasingly difficult Read More »
Both public and private entities are successfully bringing broadband services to previously unserved or underserved residents in Ohio and the Appalachia area. Recently, a partnership between the state of Ohio and AT&T brought broadband access to several southern Ohio communities. Read More »
