Broadband Stimulus Notes
Several national civil rights groups are forming the Broadband Opportunity Coalition, which will submit a joint application for some of the $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funds, the groups said Monday. Among the groups are the National Urban League, National Council of La Raza, Asian American Justice Center, League of United Latin American Citizens, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. The groups hope to increase the amount of effort and funding that’s going to increase broadband adoption, an issue which disproportionately affects communities of color, they said. The coalition will be officially launched within a month.
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The U.S. should increase its focus on broadband adoption rates rather than bringing service to the unserved, said Net Literacy and the U.S. Internet Industry Association in a white paper released Monday. The groups said a community- based approach can help universal broadband adoption to “reach the 10 percent of Americans who are not using broadband because of price and availability.” Community centers should have education programs and customizable curriculums to demonstrate the value of broadband, the groups said. The majority of broadband stimulus funds is expected to be spent on building infrastructure to regions where broadband is unavailable.
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Broadband grants were not among the top ten priorities the Obama administration announced Monday that are part of an accelerated push to get stimulus funding into the economy over the next 100 days. The top priorities are: highway, airport, waste water, military and health center projects, education initiatives, summer youth jobs, stepped-up law enforcement hires and Superfund cleanup projects.