“Broadband is the education and information and commerce and jobs of the future, and our challenge is to make sure that everyone has access to it.” Joe Barton
Congressman from Texas
The Digital Divide Hurts America
“We think M2Z has a creative and potentially viable concept and we think the FCC should be promoting experimentation”
— Andrew Schwartzman, President and CEO, Media Access Project (MAP) as quoted in the Wall Street Journal Online, August 15, 2007.
“We believe the FCC has a moral obligation to promote justice and equality by extending the critical opportunities of the information ago to all Americans. The M2Z initiative will make us stronger as a nation.”
— Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., Founder & President, Rainbow PUSH Coalition in a letter to the FCC September 7, 2007
Background:
The digital divide is the gap between those with regular, effective access to digital technologies and those without. It undermines American economic growth, prosperity, and competitiveness and creates risks associated with a disenfranchised class of citizens.
Some digital divide facts:
- Over 100 million Americans lack access to broadband Internet, of which 70 million lack access to any type of Internet connection
- 91% of adults living in households earning more than $75,000 have Internet access but only 53% of adults living in households with less than $30,000 have the same
- 79% of children living in households with an annual income under $30,000 have no Internet access
- 42% of White Americans have high speed Internet access in the home but only 31% of African-Americans have the same
- 46% of adults in suburban America have high speed Internet access to the home while only 25% of adults in rural areas have the same
M2Z’s service will help the U.S. make tremendous strides toward bridging the digital divide by providing an always-on and nearly ubiquitous service.
Notable Quotes:
“… the digital divide that has left too many Americans without adequate access to the Internet. This divide has limited opportunities to learn, succeed economically, and participate in society. It is critical that the FCC work to promote universal Internet access for all Americans”
– Gerardo E. de los Santos, President and CEO, League for Innovation in the Community College, in a letter to the FCC dated February 12, 2007 in support of M2Z
“… a troubling trend has emerged; the promise and power of information technology and the Internet is not being realized equally in our society. The lack of technology access and corresponding skills puts disadvantaged members of our society increasingly at risk of becoming disenfranchised spectators of a digital world that is passing them by.”
– Dr. Mark David Milliron, Suanne Davis Roueche Endowed Fellow, Senior Lecturer, & Director, National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), College of Education, University of Texas at Austin, in a letter to the FCC dated April 18, 2007 in support of M2Z