The Internet Innovation Alliance is a broad-based coalition of business and non-profit organizations that aim to ensure every American, regardless of race, income or geography, has access to the critical tool that is broadband Internet. The IIA seeks to promote public policies that support equal opportunity for universal broadband availability and adoption so that everyone, everywhere can seize the benefits of the Internet - from education to health care, employment to community building, civic engagement and beyond.
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Rick Boucher
Honorary Chairman
Bruce P. Mehlman
Co-Chairman
Jamal Simmons
Co-Chairman
Tracey Sawicki
Executive Director
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Blog posts tagged with 'Broadband Access'
Thursday, June 04
As usage goes up, so do the number of domain names added to the wilds of the Internet. In fact, a new report from Verisign finds that at the end of the first quarter of 2009, there were 183 million domain names registered—an increase of 12% over 2008.
Via USA Today comes new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau on Internet use. The numbers are quite impressive:
According to a new report by the Census Bureau, Internet use tripled from 1997 to 2007.
Sixty-two percent of U.S. households used the Internet from home; 18% did that in 1997.
Among those using the Internet in 2007, 82% did so using a high-speed connection. Just 17% used dial-up.
Some more findings: Mississippi and West Virginia rank lowest when it comes to Internet use, and just 19% of people without a high school diploma are online.
Wednesday, June 03
As broadband makes the leap from computers to televisions, social networking sites are finding room to expand. Case in point: Microsoft’s announcement yesterday that its popular video game console Xbox 360 will soon offer Facebook and Twitter access, allowing gamers to tweet and update their status while their shoot aliens and crash cars.
Monday, June 01
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting story on how inexpensive laptops and free Internet access are helping the homeless keep connected to the world via the Internet:
Aspiring computer programmer Paul Weston, 29, says his Macintosh PowerBook has been a “lifeboat” since he was laid off from his job as a hotel clerk in December and moved to a shelter. Sitting in a Whole Foods store with free wireless access, Mr. Weston searches for work and writes a computer program he hopes to sell eventually. He has emailed city officials to press for better shelter conditions.
The Dominion Post (via TMC.net) has a great read on how broadband access can change lives. Quoted in the article is IIA Co-Chairman Larry Irving, along with Brian Mefford, CEO of Connected Nation and IIA Broadband Ambassador.
Sony has announced a new version of its handheld gaming device the PSP. Called PSP Go, one of the things that makes the upgrade in hardware notable is the fact that it’s the first gaming device to ditch the traditional game discs and instead focus entirely on downloadable games.
Broadband has already made playing games online a popular idea. Now it’s poised to shake up the entire video game industry.
Thursday, May 21
The New York Times “Bits” blog reports on new data about worldwide broadband access provided by the Economic Cooperation and Development, which finds that Denmark leads the charge when it comes to access for its citizens.
As for the U.S., we rank squarely in the middle, sandwiched between Germany and Australia. Poor Mexico, meanwhile, brings up the rear, ranking below Turkey and even the Slovak Republic.
Check out the OECD’s full report.
Tuesday, May 12
Why go through the work and expense of burying fiber cables in a customer’s lawn when you can offer the customer a discount for doing it themselves?
Monday, May 11
Roughly one-third of households in rural America cannot subscribe to broadband Internet services at any price.
Peha, Jon M. “Bringing Broadband to Unserved Communities.” Part of The Hamilton Project, Advancing Opportunity, Prosperity and Growth. (Washington DC: The Brookings Institution). May, 2008.
More facts about rural broadband.
Speaking of the recent Benton Foundation broadband event, App-Rising has an extensive recap of the discussion. The full thing is worth reading, but this observation from Seattle CTO Bill Schrier stands out:
The most powerful statement Bill made was the observation that virtually the entire US is unserved. He says this because if a community were fully served it’d have fiber, yet the vast majority of Americans do not have access to this level of world-class broadband. He then took it a step further, arguing that the reason telework doesn’t work is that we don’t have universal access to high-speed, symmetrical broadband, the kind of connectivity that fiber delivers. Then he drove the point home with a series of rhetorical questions: With the stimulus are we going to build roads? Are we going to build copper? Or are we going to build fiber?
As they say, read the whole thing.
Monday, April 27
Availability and price are the main issues for 1/3 of the adult population who do not have broadband service.
Horrigan, John B., “Obama’s Online Issues II: If you build it, they will long on?,” Pew Internet & American Life Projects.
January 2009.
More facts about broadband adoption.
Monday, March 30
Roughly one-third of households in rural America cannot subscribe to broadband Internet services at any price.
Peha, Jon M. Bringing Broadband to Unserved Communities. Part of The Hamilton Project, Advancing Opportunity, Prosperity and Growth. (Washington DC: The Brookings Institution). May, 2008
More facts about broadband adoption.
Monday, March 23
Nearly half of high school graduates who had computers and Internet access at home went on to college. Among students who didn’t have computers and Internet access, the college enrollment rate fell to one in four.
“Bringing Broadband to the Urban Poor,” CIO Today, January 5, 2009.
More facts about broadband and education.
Tuesday, March 17
Last week, Saul Hansell of the New York Times ran a three part series on the state of broadband in America. The response to his reporting—both pro and con—was overwhelming, and yesterday he posted some of the many responses.
Friday, March 13
While lawmakers debate how the $7 billion marked for broadband expansion will be distributed, a new website is giving people living in under-served areas a chance to speak up:
Residents and businesses in communities under-served by broadband Internet access can now demonstrate their demand to the federal government by visiting and recording their location at http://weneedbroadband.com.
Only a name and address is required to map a potential subscriber’s location. The more locations mapped in a community, the more attractive it becomes for the $7.2 billion in grant dollars for broadband in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It is expected that large telecommunications companies will vie for those dollars, and communities that have already been mapped for service will be more attractive to them also.
“Everyone deserves access to broadband Internet service and the opportunities it provides, so we developed and launched the We Need Broadband project to accelerate network deployments to under-served communities,” says Vince Jordan, CEO of RidgeviewTel, which operates the site. “We encourage those under-served by broadband to enter their location and rally their neighbors and community to do the same.”
Monday, March 09
According to a report from the Leichtman Research Group, the total net broadband additions in 2008 were 37% lower than the year before. From the report:
Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) found that the twenty largest cable and telephone providers in the US – representing about 94% of the market – acquired over 5.4 million net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in 2008. Annual net broadband additions were down compared to the 8.5 million in 2007, and the peak of 10.4 million in 2006, and were the fewest in the seven years that LRG has tracked the broadband industry.
Friday, March 06
Broadband access offers a number of benefits for education. It also offers entrepreneurs a chance drive parents and educators batty:
“You can’t do it? We’re here to help,” says the homepage of a new French website where children can pay for older students to do homework for them.
On faismesdevoirs.com (domyhomework.com), children will be able to buy answers to simple maths problems for 5 euros ($6), while a full end-of-year presentation complete with slides and speaking notes will cost 80 euros ($100).
(Via Slashdot.)
The pro-tech Obama administration is running into roadblocks as they try to bring the White House up to date with Web 2.0. As Read Write Web reports:
Relatively archaic government policies, rules, and customs that impede progress are being covered by the Washington Post and reach the highest levels of government. To this day, Department of Defense workers, even some of whom are in charge of new media output, cannot access YouTube. At one government agency, public affairs employees use government-purchased Macs and wireless cards to circumvent social networks being classified as “dating sites”—by other employees! And in extraordinary cases, contractors hired by agencies to carry out the work of Government 2.0 are banned from doing the very job they were hired to do.
Security is, of course, a major concern. But as President Obama makes a concerted effort to bring every American into the high-speed Internet age, bringing his own address up to date may prove to be the biggest hurdle.
Monday, March 02
President Obama’s proposed $3.6 trillion budget has a heavy emphasis on technology, and lists expanding broadband as a top priority. As PC World reports, the blueprint includes this passage:
“To create a platform for our entrepreneurs and workers to build an economy that can lead this future, we will begin to rebuild America for the demands of the 21st Century… We will repair crumbling roads, bridges, and schools as well as expand broadband lines across America, so that a small business in a rural town can connect and compete with its counterparts anywhere in the world. And we will invest in the science, research, and technology that will lead to new medical breakthroughs, new discoveries, and entire new industries.”
Monday, February 23
While it’s true the U.S. ranks well behind countries like South Korea and Japan when it comes to broadband access and speed, as the New York Times “Bits” blog reports, we’re currently #1 when it comes to actually using broadband.
[T]here are many ways to measure the bandwidth wealth of nations. At the Columbia/Georgetown seminar on the broadband stimulus yesterday, I heard Leonard Waverman, the dean of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, describe a measure he developed called the “Connectivity Scorecard.” It’s meant to compare countries on the extent that consumers, businesses and government put communication technology to economically productive use.
Even after deducting the untold unproductive hours spent on Facebook and YouTube, the United States comes out on top in Mr. Waverman’s ranking of 25 developed countries. The biggest reason is that business in the United States has made extensive use of computers and the Internet and it has a technically skilled workforce.
“Korea has great broadband to the house, but businesses in Korea don’t use the best networks and don’t have the skills and computing assets they need to take advantage of them,” Mr. Waverman said.
If America leads the world in smartly using broadband, just imagine what we could accomplish if we ranked #1 in access as well.
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