Maximizing the benefits of high-speed Internet is “vital”...
Maximizing the benefits of high-speed Internet is “vital” to America, FCC Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn told the National Urban League Wednesday, according to prepared remarks. There’s a “direct link” between access to broadband and access to jobs, and an Urban…
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League report showed that 77 percent of African Americans have used broadband to search for jobs, she said. The adoption gap between African Americans and whites has been reduced nearly 50 percent since 2009, she said. But too many Americans still find themselves “lost behind by the broadband revolution,” with about 100 million people without high-speed Internet at home, she said. “Broadband is no longer a luxury, it is essential.” FCC partnerships with the Urban League have helped jumpstart Connect2Compete to close the broadband adoption gap, and FCC reform of outdated USF rules has made significant new funding available for broadband buildout, she said. Commission efforts to modernize E-rate will further enhance Americans’ access to high-speed Internet, she said. But the challenges of closing the digital divide are “too great for any one person or organization to solve,” she said. “That’s why increased public-private sector collaboration is so important."