Broadband Stimulus Notes

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps toured two D.C. health facilities Tuesday that could benefit from increased availability of broadband, beginning a national tour to look at the need for broadband in health services. At his first stop, Copps discussed the uses of technology with the staff of the Healthy Baby Project, which provides prenatal care to low-income pregnant women. Project staffers said broadband helps their work because they use Facebook and e-mail to communicate parenting class times and other information to mothers. Afterward, Copps went to Family and Medical Counseling Services, where he discussed the importance of electronic medical records, which “improves care while cutting time and costs in patient administration,” he said. Copps will be in South Dakota next month, where he will discuss the role of broadband in tribal health care facilities, he said. The commission is developing a national broadband plan that is scheduled to come out next year.