National Broadband Plan Workshop: Programmatic Efforts to Increase Broadband Adoption and Usage (see summary)

Programmatic Efforts to Increase Broadband Adoption and Usage
What Works and What Doesn't?

See a summary of the worksop
Watch a webcast of the event

FCC National Broadband Plan Workshop
Federal Communications Commission
Room TW-C305 (Commission Meeting Room)
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554
August 19, 2009
3:30pm-5:30pm

Contact:
Angie Kronenberg
Angela.Kronenberg@fcc.gov
(202) 418-2963
http://broadband.gov/ws_adoption_mobile.html

FCC Panelists:

  • Angie Kronenberg, Special Counsel, Spectrum & Competition Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
  • Brian David, Adoption and Usage Director, Omnibus Broadband Initiative
  • Neşe Guendelsberger, Acting Chief, Spectrum & Competition Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
  • Elise Kohn, Adoption Manager, Omnibus Broadband Initiative
  • Nancy Murphy, Associate Bureau Chief, Media Bureau

Panel: Programmatic Efforts to Increase Broadband Adoption and Usage -What Works and What Doesn't?

  • Kathryn Falk, Vice President, Public Affairs, Cox Communications, Northern Virginia
  • Greg Goldman, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Impact Group (see prepared presentation)
  • Howie Hodges, Senior Vice President for Business Development & Government Affairs, One Economy Corporation (see prepared presentation)
  • Laurie Itkin, Director of Government Affairs, Cricket Communications, Inc./Leap Wireless, Inc. (see prepared presentation)
  • Thomas Kamber, Ph.D., Executive Director, Older Adults Technology Services
  • Mark Malaspina, Chief Program Officer, Computers for Youth (see prepared presentation)
  • Raquel Noriega, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Connected Nation (see prepared presentation)

The goal of this workshop is to explore adoption programs that aim to increase adoption and utilization of broadband. This workshop will focus on programs already developed and implemented by non-profits, private industry, and government entities. Panelists will discuss the categories into which these programs fall, the adoption issues specifically addressed, the costs of implementation, and a quantification of their results. Both successes and failures should be addressed, in order to learn lessons and develop best practices, as well as challenges that may arise in sustaining programs. The workshop also will examine whether such adoption programs could be implemented on a national basis and what specific adoption-related recommendations should be included in the National Broadband Plan.

The following are some of the preliminary topics that will be covered at this workshop. The FCC is inviting suggestions.

  • What is the best way to organize adoption/utilization programs into coherent categories?
    • Affordability of Equipment
    • Affordability of Service
    • Digital Literacy/Training
    • Relevant Content Development for Target Populations
    • Needs of Specific Demographic Segments
    • Demand Aggregation
  • What programs have been developed and implemented by non-profits, private industry, and government entities to promote broadband adoption and utilization?
  • What were the length, demographic and/or geographic coverage, and cost of the programs?
  • What goals were originally defined for the programs? Which programs have been successful? Which programs have not met their goals and what were the reasons?
  • Which programs are scalable for a national broadband adoption/utilization effort?
  • What are the panelists' recommendations for achieving maximum adoption and utilization of broadband throughout the nation?

What some are already telling the FCC about broadband adoption...

National Caucus and Center On Black Aged, Inc
As the FCC establishes a national broadband strategy, NCBA hopes that the Commission will strive to bring broadband to all Americans with low barriers for adoption. Our constituency is among the group of "low-adopters" of broadband technology. Connected Nation finds the average broadband adoption rate of all Americans to be at 50%. However, 45% of African Americans and a mere 25% of those over the age of 65 have adopted broadband at home. These figures illustrate the need for affordable broadband and the importance of informing low-adopting demographic groups of its benefits.

US Internet Industry Associations comments filed in association with NetLiteracy
It will be necessary to complete the buildout of the broadband infrastructure in order to gain a sufficient subscriber base to further reduce consumer costs, and to reach the 10 percent of Americans who are not using broadband because of issues of price and availability. But the broader issue is adoption of broadband by those who have access available and still cannot use the Internet for a variety of reasons.

This position paper proposes a community-based approach to achieving ubiquitous adoption of broadband, based on five programs to:

  • Create a national Digital Inclusion initiative to drive broadband adoption
  • Convene a national conference and website to coordinate community efforts- the major stakeholders should e included in working groups that include public private and non profit sectors.
  • Coordinate targets and goals, identify funding priorities, identify and create "best of class" solutions that will serve as a resource data base for local communities utilizing public and private funding to increase computer and Internet literacy, and present digital inclusion structure examples that will provide the communities a menu of alternatives from which to choose or build upon to best meet their constituencies' requirements.
  • Solicit public comment
  • Create community center education programs to communicate the value proposition for broadband through traditional media should reach down to those that are not net literate. Both local and national media should play a role in this campaign
    • A top down media campaign must reach out to individuals who are not net literate
    • A bottom up campaign should then reach out to senior and community centers.
      • Create a flexible and customizable curriculum for use in each community center
      • Provide for a "Student Net Literacy Corps,"
      • Provide computers to low-income Americans who do not have them - A Computer Re Tasking Program.
      • Either through donations from private citizens or computer companies - businesses could receive tax credits for donating old computers