New TV apps will drive broadband adoption, FCC says

The Federal Communications Commission used the Consumer Electronics Show to push forward its hope of making the television the gateway to the Internet.

Televisions that allow consumers to connect to Facebook or download movies could make it easier and less intimidating for people to go online, easing the job of the FCC and Obama administration to make broadband access ubiquitous. About one-third of Americans do not subscribe to broadband even though it is available to them, largely because they don't consider the content and services useful or relevant to their lives, surveys show.

FCC Chairman Genachowski was pleased at the rapid evolution of the TV market. While 75 percent of U.S. households have a computer, 98 percent have at least one TV, he said. Chairman Genachowski hopes that will make it easier for even the least tech-savvy consumers get onto the Internet. And he hopes to see more applications that appeal to all kinds of people to help drive broadband adoption. "Can TVs be part of the solution to broadband?" he said Friday. "There's been much less innovation and activity in that area than there have been in other areas."