With the launch of Apple’s IBook textbook application a new era in learning has begun. Listen to my podcast where I explain that while the technology is game changing, not getting it to minorities and the inner cities could create a new digital divide. I believe a post from Time magazine paints an accurate picture of the worst case scenario: Thus in the most frightening scenario, one could imagine a world where Apple’s textbooks serve [...]

When you hear talk about the FCC creating plans to create equal levels of internet access for all, most of those plans don’t really take in to account how to bridge the divide in urban and rural areas for minorities. The government does not have the money to do it on their own. They also seem to take a general swipe approach to how to solve the broadband problem without taking into account that problem [...]

Is New Jersey capturing the full benefits of the new competitive marketplace when it comes to telecommunications? Absolutely not, and the reason for this is simple. New Jersey’s old regulatory structure is not allowing it to. New Jersey could be on the path to a prosperous digital future with the passage of the bipartisan Market Competition and Consumer Choice Act. Current regulations proved useful when they were put into place more than three decades ago [...]

The district of DC is dvided in terms of it’s access to broadband services. Some areas are at 97% connectivity while others are barely at 30% Those divisions exist even in the world of bits and bytes, unfortunately, with access to broadband services reaching 97 percent in Ward 3 while barely hitting the 40 percent mark in some communities east of the Anacostia River. That is about the change. The mayor recently announced a citywide [...]

If you have always wanted the chance to audit classes from the top schools in the country. Now is your chance. Several top schools have offered classes for anyone to view free online. This is just another example of all the things at our disposal online. Share this with a friend tonight so that we can continue to close the divide. See more here. http://mashable.com/2011/11/11/free-online-education/

When people think of farmers and agriculture they very rarely think of smartphones and laptops in the same thought. But the reality is that broadband acess is becoming more and more a key part of the daily life of rural America. A recent article showed that 4 years ago 38% of farmers in Wisconsin used internet access for business  and today that number is up to 42%. That shows some potential but the other fact [...]

Many of us take for granted the various education opportunities we have access to on a regular basis. But for many people those same options are not afforded to them. Location and infrastructure are huge barriers for many minorities and people in rural areas. The way to get them the access they deserve is through wireless. In the USDLA’s recent report there are numerous success stories of people who had their lives change by having [...]

U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn believes that any plan to attack the debt and deficits will  not work unless it includes ways to create jobs. And while the points of his message were worth hearing as always  but it was the method he used that really caught my eye. On Thursday he conducted a Virtual town hall on the site Politic365.com where he addressed  topics such as broadband access, job creation, the Bush tax cuts [...]

House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith made pitch urging federal regulators to see the benefits of the AT&T/T-mobile merger. He joins a growing list of supporters touting the benefits of the merger to groups that are directly involved in making the decision.   He also make statements question how the opponents looked at the deal  and did not see the benefits. Smith cited specific reasons as to why the opponents should see this merger as beneficial: “Smith, [...]