More Broadband Help Announced
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association announced Tuesday it is proposing a nationwide public-private partnership aimed at increasing digital literacy among low-income middle school students and increasing their access to broadband Internet services. The proposed two-year pilot project is targeted at middle school students, those in grades six through eight or seven through nine depending on the school district, who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunches, NCTA President Kyle McSlarrow said in a conference call.
The first step of the three-pronged proposal is to call for schools to implement digital literacy programs to teach students who currently lack broadband at home how to use a computer and how to surf the Web safely. The second step is a call for discounted computers for these students, and the third element would involve NCTA member companies providing a 50 percent discount on the lowest-tier broadband service and an Internet modem along with free installation. McSlarrow said the estimated cost of providing discounted broadband service to the approximately 3.5 million students that would be eligible for the program, about 1.8 million households, would be about $572 million.
Blair Levin, executive director of the FCC's broadband initiative, said to address the nation's digital divide there needs to be many different "targeted solutions," such as the one being proposed by NCTA. "The country cannot afford for millions of kids to fall further behind," Levin said in brief comments on the conference call. NCTA worked with Levin and other FCC officials in developing the program.
McSlarrow said the discounted computers could come from computer manufacturers or from federal subsidies from the broadband funding provided by the federal economic stimulus package. He said NCTA has reached out to computer manufacturers and other broadband providers to participate in the program. When asked if the proposal is a way to get the government to help the cable industry reach new subscribers, McSlarrow acknowledged that "as an industry we have an interest in driving broadband adoption." But he added that the industry has "a long-standing tradition" of community service and funding education programs.
In a statement, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the "cable industry's considerable investment in this program represents an important step in addressing the many broadband adoption challenges we face."
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