Genachowski Says Work Remains to Narrow Broadband Adoption Gaps

Among its other conclusions, the report (http://xrl.us/bm52br) said adoption for those earning below $20,000 a year and high-school drop outs remains “persistently low.” Only 38 percent of black and 51 percent of white high school dropouts had adopted broadband in 2010, the report said. The U.S. could further narrow the gap by linking broadband to jobs, the report said. “African Americans use broadband to search and apply for jobs and to social network more than white Americans do,” it said. “This is especially true for African Americans without a high school diploma and with an annual household income under $20,000.”

"This important report contains some good news but it also contains some not so good news,” said Urban League President Marc Morial. The good news is that the gap between African Americans and whites is “narrowing and narrowing significantly,” he said. But for the “locked out and left out” broadband “remains elusive, in some cases unaffordable and the gap remains unacceptably high,” Morial said.

The report “will make a real difference in our work and in our collective goal to close adoption gaps, unleash opportunity for all Americans,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, noting that commissioners Robert McDowell and Mignon Clyburn were also on the dais. “There aren’t that many events that we all come to together and it says a lot about the importance of this issue.” The three major impediments to adoption remain cost, digital literacy and relevance, with many still undervaluing the importance of broadband, Genachowski said. “We're working together to tackle each of these three challenges,” he said. Genachowski hailed the commitment by the cable industry to offer $9.95/month broadband service to all families with children eligible for the school lunch program. “It’s a very big idea, highly complex, not easy, and not something that you can just say yes to,” he said. “It requires real commitment and real investment of resources."

McDowell noted that last year the FCC “repurposed” the high cost part of the federal USF to support broadband, while imposing a budget on the program for the first time. “Not only was our effort historic, but it was bipartisan and unanimous as well, and that’s something you don’t hear much about in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “Although our overhaul was a major accomplishment, the FCC has much more to do to implement USF reform and in rescuing the fund’s failing contribution methodology -- that is who is going to pay for these subsidies and how.” McDowell said he’s pleased to see the good news in the report that the broadband adoption gap is narrowing. “All too often, folks only focus on the bad news, especially in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “Of course, more needs to be done and more will be done.” The FCC needs to respect “market trends,” he added. “Already more than 30 percent of America’s households are wireless only for their phone service,” he said. “Let’s connect that powerful dot with another fact. Minorities are more likely to use mobile devices than whites. ... Furthermore, minorities are more likely to use their mobile devices for Internet access. When we take a step back from these details, we can see an encouraging trend more clearly. That is the Internet is going mobile and American minorities are leading the way.”

Broadband adoption is critical for those who want to live “the American dream,” said NCTA President Michael Powell, a former chairman of the FCC. “Anyone hoping for a life filled with honorable work, personal and family prosperity, education for their children, a better life for those children, knows that that road passes through the digital age,” he said. Powell, a descendant of slaves, said the Information Age could prove “the first time of the three great economic epics in which African Americans may truly and genuinely have a chance."

"Many things we wish to accomplish at the FCC can be expedited through coordination with private industry,” Clyburn said. “Nowhere is this more clear than with broadband adoption. Getting Americans connected at home and in their communities is in everyone’s best interests.” Too many Americans still lack easy access to broadband, she said. “I've heard stories of individuals traveling miles, by bus, just to log on and scour the Web for employment. I've been told of a student hiding overnight in a public library in order to finish his homework and I have seen firsthand ... the lines that form at those computer terminals inside of our public libraries.”