Investing in broadband

[Commentary] The massive economic stimulus package that Congress passed last year included $7.2 billion to promote the spread of high-speed Internet connections in the United States. We can quibble over whether those funds helped stimulate the economy -- it took almost a year for the federal government to approve the first grant requests -- but not about the long-term value of the investment.

The proof of that is in the two grants recently awarded to California, which aim to narrow the gap between the digital haves and have-nots. The federal government gave a group led by the California Emerging Technology Fund $7.25 million to run educational campaigns in underserved communities. These will include working with middle schools to train and equip parents to use computers; with housing developers to build broadband service into subsidized rentals; and with major medical centers to establish broadband links to clinics in the inner city and rural areas. The point is to show people how broadband is relevant to them. The efforts by Los Angeles and the technology fund don't address all of America's broadband shortcomings. Other issues include broadband speeds that lag those in rival industrialized nations, noncompetitive prices and poor coverage in remote areas. But the grants to the two projects represent a smart investment in a digital onramp, one that will usher more Americans into the economy and workforce of the future.