The Promise of Digital Health Care

By Brad

In an op-ed for Politic365, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation President and CEO Melanie Campbell (who is also on of our Members) writes about the promise of healthcare powered by broadband for minority communities:

In 20 or 30 years, when we look back on today, we may realize that the most important medical enabler of the last generation is, ironically, high-speed broadband networks.  After all, the doctor monitoring your heart and asking you questions during an online evaluation can’t do that using an old voice-centric telephone line.  The broadband connection has to be robust and dynamic, capable of carrying the data-intensive traffic to and from patients and their doctors or healthcare specialists.

As FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said to a civil rights conference in Memphis, TN, “Access to broadband means access to better education, healthcare, job opportunities, news and information.”  Policies affecting access to America’s communications revolution will have an immense role in the future of affordable healthcare.

That’s why telemedicine, including the potential for more accessible and affordable care, depends on the nationwide build out of high-speed broadband networks.

Read the full piece at Politic365.

Things Are Changing

By Brad

Over at Politic365, Kristal High digs in to the National Urban League’s report “Connecting the Dots: Linking Broadband Adoption to Job Creation and Competitiveness”:

The report explains that in 2010, 56 percent of African Americans had access to broadband at home, compared to 67 percent of whites, or an 11 percent difference.  But in 2009, the difference between those same groups was 19 percentage points.

These findings show that increasing numbers of consumers are discovering the limitless potential and possibilities brought by access to mobile broadband. It’s clear that broadband drives economic growth, job creation, and innovation in every industry—but for individuals and families, the benefits include better access to health care and educational opportunities, as well as the ability to find a job, network online, and obtain job training. And for one group that has traditionally had less access to this life-changing technology, things are changing.

The National Urban League’s report is available here (PDF).

A Double Shot of Reports

By Brad

There are two new reports worth checking out today. FIrst up, a look at the benefits of broadband for businesses courtesy of Connected Nation:

• Nearly one in three businesses (32%) earn revenues from online sales. This translates into more than 2.4 million U.S. businesses

• Broadband-connected businesses bring in approximately $300,000 more in annual median revenues than non-broadband adopting businesses

• An estimated 4.4 million U.S. business establishments have websites, including more than 2 million businesses with fewer than five employees

• Teleworking also continues to have an impact in the marketplace, with 24% of rural businesses and 35% of non-rural businesses currently allowing employees to telework or telecommute

• Minority-owned businesses in the U.S. account for $49 billion in annual sales revenues from online sales (or 12% of total online sales in the U.S.). A large percentage of minority-owned businesses report using broadband to handle some or all of their business functions (79%, compared to 76% of all businesses on average)

Connected Nation’s full “2012 Jobs and Broadband Report” is available on their website (PDF). It’s worth digging in to.

Also worth checking out is “Connecting the Dots: Linking Broadband Adoption to Job Creation and Job Competitiveness” (PDF) from the National Urban League, which examines where the digital divide persists in America, and highlights how expanding access helps drive employment and opportunity in the African America community. From the report’s findings:

• Overall broadband adoption gap is narrowing: In 2010, the home broadband adoption gap between African Americans and white Americans was 11 percentage points—in 2009, this was 19 percentage
points (56% for African Americans and 67% for white Americans in 2010).

• Target broadband adoption efforts at high school dropouts and households below $20,000 annual income: This group has persistently low broadband adoption—38% of African American and 51% of white American high school dropouts adopted broadband in 2010.

• Close broadband adoption gaps by linking it to jobs: Segment of African American population with low adoption has the most interest in using broadband for jobs—77% of African Americans and 17% of white American high school dropouts used broadband to search for jobs in 2009.

• African Americans are underrepresented in broadband jobs and businesses: African Americans were 8% of broadly-defined STEM occupations in 2010 and made 0.23% of revenues in information sector businesses in 2007. Broadband adoption can be leveraged to change this.

Pew on Digital Differences

By Brad

Pew has released its latest “Digital differences” report, examining Internet adoption and mobile connectivity. The full report is worth digging in to, but here are some interesting highlights.

On the state of America’s digital divide:

• One in five American adults does not use the internet. Senior citizens, those who prefer to take our interviews in Spanish rather than English, adults with less than a high school education, and those living in households earning less than $30,000 per year are the lest likely adults to have internet access.

On current levels of technology adoption:

• Currently, 88% of American adults have a cell phone, 57% have a laptop, 19% own an e-book reader, and 19% have a tablet computer; about six in ten adults (63%) go online wireless with one of these devices.

When it comes to smartphones, adoption among minorities continues to be impressive. As the report finds:

As we found in our May 2011 study of smartphone adoption, several demographic groups have higher than average levels of smartphone adoption, including groups that traditionally have higher rates of tech adoption in general: the financially well-off, the well-educated, and adults under age 50.

Additionally, we see no significant differences in use between whites and minorities. Both African-Americans and Latinos have overall adoption rates that are comparable to the national average for all Americans (smartphone penetration is 49% in each case, just higher than the national average of 46%).

There’s much, much more to be found in Pew’s report. Check it out.

Minority Media and Telecom Council: Spectrum is a “Civil Rights Issue”

By Brad

With research consistently showing that minorities are leading the charge when it comes to mobile broadband adoption and usage, the group Minority Media and Telecom Council is highlighting the critical need for more spectrum allocated to wireless use. As Gautham Nagesh of The Hill reports:

The group issued a statement on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. day, noting African-Americans and Hispanic Americans are more likely than whites to rely on mobile devices as their primary connection to the Internet.

“Taking away fast, inexpensive and reliable wireless would be taking away the best chance people of color have had in decades to attain first class citizenship,” the group said, arguing the solution is for Congress to approve incentive auctions of spectrum currently held by broadcasters.

MMTC’s full statement is available on their website (PDF).

Dr. King and Broadband Access

By Brad

Speaking of the digital divide (and must-read op-eds), over at The Huffington Post, Minority Media Telecommunications Council co-founder David Honig has penned an opinion piece inspired by the dedication of the new Dr. Martin Luther King National Memorial that argues the late civil rights leader would be a champion of expanding broadband access were he still alive. Writes Honig:

In his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama likened broadband access and adoption to a railway that hasn’t shown up for many Americans. His five-year target for “connecting every corner of America to the digital age ... to put high-speed wireless services in reach of virtually every American” is achievable.

Getting there is the Number One civil rights issue of today. Universal broadband access, adoption, and informed use are what define First Class Citizenship in the digital age—with full access to education, to health care, to employment, and to a chance to become an engineer of social justice.

Mobile Broadband, Regulations, and the Digital Divide

By Brad

In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Lucy Hood, executive director of the Institute for Communication Technology Management at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, writes about increasing smartphone adoption by minority groups:

This smartphone revolution has made wireless data the fastest-growing service category in the 300 million cellphone market, with average revenue per user growing more than 20% from 2009 to 2010. Latinos and blacks are disproportionately higher users of data services, according to CTM surveys. For example, minorities are twice as likely as the average user to access health information via smartphones. Use of m-commerce—buying via a phone—is 50% higher among blacks and Latinos.

Later in the piece, Hood encourages regulators to keep up with rapidly changing technology:

[N]o one metric can begin to capture the complexity of today’s marketplace for Internet connectivity. Officials who still cling to such statistics as fixed-broadband access, and regulators who make policy around them, overlook the emerging reality brought about by rapid technological progress, business innovation and a dynamic wireless market. The smartphone revolution enables people to take matters into their own hands and find effective ways to narrow the digital divide.

Hood’s full op-ed is definitely worth checking out.

Broadband’s Role in Creating Jobs and Closing the Digital Divide

By IIA

Last week, IIA Strategic Counsel Henry M. Rivera spoke at the 2011 Educational Conference of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Below are his remarks. — IIA

It’s a pleasure and an honor to be here with you at LCLAA’s educational conference.

I did a little research on LCLAA and found that since its inception, LCLAA has worked tirelessly to advance the social, economic, political, human and civil rights of all Latinos and has provided a strong voice for Latino working families nationally. So I’m honored that i’ve been asked to address this distinguished organization.

I feel some kinship with LCLAA because throughout my career, beginning with my appointment to the FCC as the agency’s first Hispanic commissioner, I have had the privilege of advocating for policies designed to both promote and preserve equal opportunity and civil rights in the communications industries, and to close the digital divide. So I have long appreciated the magnitude of the challenges that LCLAA faces.

Following my brief remarks, you will hear from a distinguished panel on the role of broadband in creating jobs and closing the digital divide, an issue that is critical to all of us. So in the few minutes I have with you, I would like to give you an overview of what’s at stake in this debate, why we need to care, and why now is the right time to act.

there's more...

Wireless Policies & Minorities

By Brad

In a must-read opinion piece for Politico, Henry M. Rivera, chairman of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (and the first Latino commissioner for the FCC), makes the case that smart wireless policies are critical to ensuring minority groups are not left behind:

The 2010 census showed that minority populations, Latinos in particular, are growing rapidly. Pair this with the fact that a high percentage of minorities depend on wireless service for Internet access, and the picture is clear: Consumer demand for wireless services will only grow.

Latinos and African-Americans lead the way in mobile broadband use — subscribing at a rate of 53 percent and 58 percent, respectively, and both groups will be disproportionately affected if providers fail to keep up with the demand for more spectrum.

This need is not some myth created by the wireless industry to justify amassing valuable spectrum, and its ramifications go well beyond the Beltway. The Federal Communications Commission has persuasively laid out the spectrum crunch facing the nation. Numerous companies, network engineers, wireless experts, analysts and even the White House have all testified about the threats associated with the looming problem — consistently presenting solid information supporting the detrimental effects of not having enough spectrum.

Read the whole thing.

Swift Action Needed

By Brad

The South Florida Times reports the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights — a coalition of civil rights, labor and church organizations — has encouraged the FCC to move quickly to close the digital divide:

In a letter to FCC Commissioners, the coalition urged swift action to broaden the reach of broadband access through the Lifeline and Link-Up programs as an economic imperative for minorities.

“This access is critically important for success in the job market,” the coalition said.

The coalition noted that when the March unemployment was 8.8 percent, black unemployment was 15.5 percent and Latino unemployment was 11.3 percent.

The coalition’s full letter is available at the FCC website (PDF).

Broadband Fact of the Week

By IIA

Only 47 percent of Hispanics access broadband at home.

— “Expanding Opportunities in the Hispanic Community: Solutions for Increased Broadband Access,” National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, October 7, 2010.

Learn more facts in our ever-expanding Broadband Fact Book.

Broadband Fact of the Week

By IIA

In a recent study, the U.S. Commerce Department estimated that differences in income and education accounted for about half of the gap in Internet usage between whites and Hispanics and African-Americans.

— Shapiro, Robert and Kevin Hassett.  “A New Analysis of Broadband Adoption Rates by Minority Households.” Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy.  Washington D.C.  June 22, 2010.

Learn more facts in our ever-expanding Broadband Fact Book.

IIA Podcast: David Sutphen at NewMe (Part 3)

By IIA

IIA Co-Chairman David Sutphen discusses the rise of minority businesses in the tech field.

IIA Video:  David Sutphen on Digital Literacy

By IIA

IIA Co-chairman David Sutphen discusses digital literacy and the lack of people of color in the emerging technology field.

Broadband Fact of the Week

By IIA

Minority-owned small businesses are growing four times faster than all U.S. firms, accounting for over 50% of the 2 million businesses started in the U.S.

Matt Warner, “Opportunities For Disadvantaged Businesses,” Blogband. October 6, 2009.

Read more facts about broadband.

More Minority Groups Warning Against Net Neutrality

By Bruce Mehlman

Via Broadband Breakfast, three minority business groups — the National Black Chamber of Commerce, the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce — held a conference call yesterday to express their concerns over the effect of proposed net neutrality regulations:

The business officials expressed concern over internet regulation, emphasizing their priority to bring broadband access to minority populations.

They said that broadband plays a role in job creation and as a vehicle for innovation, growth, and competition. This, they said, was a reason to avoid net neutrality regulations, as they could slow down the deployment of broadband networks in underserved areas.

With estimates for the final tab of a national broadband plan reaching as high as $350 billion, private investment will be critical for wiring America. Any new regulations that stall investment could put nationwide broadband out of reach.

A Discussion About Net Neutrality and the Digital Divide

By Brad

Last week, James Rucker of the group Color of Change penned an op-ed for the Huffington Post taking aim at the position of some civil rights groups when it comes to net neutrality:

Net Neutrality is the principle that prevents Internet Service Providers from controlling what kind of content or applications you can access online. It sounds wonky, but for Black and other communities, an open Internet offers a transformative opportunity to truly control our own voice and image, while reaching the largest number of people possible. This dynamic is one major reason why Barack Obama was elected president and why organizations like ColorOfChange.org exist.

So I was troubled to learn that several Congressional Black Caucus members were among 72 Democrats to write the FCC last fall questioning the need for Net Neutrality rules. I was further troubled that a number of our nation’s leading civil rights groups had also taken positions questioning or against Net Neutrality, using arguments that were in step with those of the big phone and cable companies like AT&T and Comcast, which are determined to water down any new FCC rules.

Most unsettling about their position is the argument that maintaining Net Neutrality could widen the digital divide.

Today, Maximum Leverage Solutions President Navarrow Wright offered a rebuttal to Rucker’s op-ed, also on the Huffington Post:

We all know the fight today is between Google and the ISPs. And just because the arguments you make sound just like those made by Google and Public Knowledge, it doesn’t make you a bad guy. What I don’t understand though is why you are criticizing people who are looking for answers. You seem surprised that the CBC and civil right leaders are concerned that when the big companies fight each other the under served may lose?

Don’t you think the FCC should answer the questions raised by the civil rights leaders and CBC? Why is it wrong to ask the FCC to make sure the rules they are proposing will not widen the digital divide? Why is it wrong to ask the FCC to make sure the rules they develop will not lead to regressive pricing which would shackle poor people? Why is it wrong to ask that the costs be borne by the people that cause them and not by the underserved? Why are you so afraid of the answers to these questions?

Unintended Consequences

By Brad

Via Broadcasting & Cable, a coalition of minority women’s organizations — including the Asian American Justice Center, the Hispanic Technology & Telecommunications Partnership, and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators — are calling on the FCC to take the digital divide into account as it moves forward with proposed net neutrality regulations.

From the coalition’s letter to the FCC:

As organizations that serve communities that are among the most severely impacted by a lack of access to technology, we urge you to keep your number one focus on the need to get everyone connected. We are concerned that some of the proposed regulations on the Internet could, as applied, inhibit the goal of universal access and leave disenfranchised communities further behind. We are also concerned that some proposed regulations could inhibit investments being made by companies employing hundreds of thousands of workers and connecting millions to the opportunities that broadband technology affords to those in our community – from telemedicine to distance learning to applying for jobs online.

More Symposium Coverage

By Bruce Mehlman

Both Broadband Breakfast and Richard Prince of the Black College Wire have rundowns of last week’s Broadband Symposium on access for all Americans.

IIA in the News: An Interview with David Sutphen

By Brad

Multichannel News sat down with IIA Co-Chairman David Sutphen to talk about broadband adoption among America’s minority communities and the role of private investment in expanding broadband, among other things. Check it out.