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 [...]

As Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski spoke a panel at the Edtech conference two themes echoed loud and clear. He mention broadband is no longer a luxury and the two areas we need to focus on are digital literacy and Rural broadband access. There is no question that today being digitally literate is essential to participate in our economy, and there is no question that these technologies provide the opportunities to equalize opportunity,” he [...]

Everyday i read more tweets, articles and posts from people speaking out against the AT&T /T-mobile claiming higher prices and other constraints to competition but at the same time i see Sprint get the Iphone4s and be in a position to compete with any other carrier. But as these small wins are won on either side i feel like there is one area that is being neglected, Rural America. They don’t represent Big gains for [...]

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 [...]

If you see the news today you should know that that we are still in the midst of an unemployment crisis. Even though things have improved since the height of the recent recession, unemployment levels still are at an all time high. The areas that appear to be the hardest hit are places with high populations of minorities. North Carolina has seen unemployment rates as go as high as 15% and African leaders have declared [...]

Also You mention the Pew Study but fail to mention how it shows that wireless has been the biggest driver for getting people of color online and how it has elevated our access to timely informatio­n. And how many small businesses owned by people of color have used mobile devices to create new opportunit­ies and grow their businesses­. I know you are just doing your job and I appreciate your passion but I ask that [...]

Joe While i appreciate you putting the issues of people of color center stage I do think you need to give the complete picture here so that people are properly informed. First, T-mobile will not remain on it’s own because it’s parent company has already made comments that it will no longer invest in it so someone needs to acquire it or everyone who works for T-mobile will lose their jobs. I think you can [...]

The latest Pew report was published about Cell phone usage and it continues to show what increasingly more and more people are starting to realize, that wireless is the key driver to closing the digital divide. You can find the report here but all the data points to how mobile broadband is continuing to provide access to minorities to services that they otherwise would not be connected to. IF you look at the chart of [...]