Remarks of FCC’s Gigi Sohn on the Digital Divide

When thinking about the digital divide in America, I find that a useful number to wrap your brain around the nature of the challenge is 50/50. Let me elaborate. If you look at the broadband adoption numbers in the US, there are two categories where we have pretty much reached universal adoption -- people under the age of 50 and people earning over $50,000. So what are we doing at the Federal Communications Commission to close the digital divide and make sure every American can enjoy the benefits of the Internet revolution? For starters, we at the FCC strongly believe that it’s not enough to make sure the Internet is accessible to all. The Internet must also be fast, and the Internet must be open. Now let me walk through some of the FCC’s key initiatives to close America’s broadband gaps. The use of the plural “gaps” is purposeful. As you all know, there is not just one digital divide -- there is the rural gap, the income gap, the homework gap and the accessibility gap, among others....

Access to broadband equals access to opportunity. Opportunities for jobs; for education; for health care; for civic participation; for our environment. This is less about technology, and more about people. This is less of an infrastructure challenge, and more of a civil rights and human rights challenge.