This post originally appeared on politic365.com A recent article in Investor’s Business Daily revealed a startling bias against the potential benefits of broadband, particularly for low-income and minority students. According to Norm Alster, the article’s author, [T]he latest research suggests that dumping technology on people actually widens the gap between haves and have-nots.  Kids who are given computers and high-speed Internet begin to slip in math, reading and English.  The impact is worst among the [...]

Today’s installment of Benefits of broadband is all about phone calls. Imagine calling anyone anywhere in the us free and for as long as you want. No, it’s not magic jack or one of those other infomercials. It’s google voice calling which is now a part of gmail. The service which just launched yesterday has already been used 1 million times. http://mashable.com/2010/08/27/google-million-calls/ If you one of those people who is irritated each month by their [...]

The Latest Pew Report show a pretty significant increase in  broadband access in black homes over 2009. So much so that the New York Times online did a story about it here.  While my first reaction is that of excitement I want to make sure we don’t get too confident. While the growth is significant, our numbers pale in comparison to mainstream America. More and more people are beginning the realize the importance of having access  [...]

Surprised?  No.   Disappointed?  Yes. That’s how I feel after reading this report on Blackweb 2.0 that says only 1 percent of web start-ups are from African Americans. “Overall, African Americans are still underrepresented in both the tech and entrepreneurial sectors,” the story notes.   The research advised that “burgeoning black techpreneurs” might find a greater reception and investors for their ideas in New York’s Silicon Alley.  I have wrapped my career — and it has become my [...]

The last few days have seen the best and worst of the Net Neutrality debate. First, I encourage you to watch this video on CNET – http://cnettv.cnet.com/net-neutrality/9742-1_53-50091412.html?tag=mncol;2n .  You will see two experts do a superb job summarizing the Net Neutrality issue.   You may not agree with every point (I didn’t), but you will have a far better grasp of  the topic. I do agree with Maggie Reardon of CNET and author Larry Downes that the [...]

I’m always looking for hopeful signs that the digital divide is closing, I noticed two recent examples that demonstrate progress is being made, and they show how free enterprise and targeted federal investments both play important roles. First, the explosion of tablet personal computers has Apple, Microsoft, Google and others trying to grow or protect market share — and that translates into more options, greater ease of use, more applications, and better pricing for consumers [...]

I came across this article today from the St. Petersburg Times and wanted to share it.  http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/dont-block-mobile-path-onto-internet/1113659 There have been some studies that have shown the rapid adoption of mobile broadband by minorities.  While the hope is that they adopt wire-line broadband as well it is encouraging to see that mobile technology has allowed  them to get exposure to the benefits of broadband access. The article questions whether  the FCC recognizes this growth and how their [...]