Strategies to Increase Broadband Adoption and Use

On March 9, the Federal Communications Commission and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation discussed strategies that will provide 93 million Americans who have been left behind in the digital age with the tools they need to seek jobs, stay informed and connected, and pursue economic opportunity. America's Digital Inclusion Summit at the Newseum focused on the need to break down barriers to broadband as high-speed Internet service becomes increasingly vital to citizens and the nation.

The draft National Broadband Plan makes a number of recommendations on increasing broadband adoption to FCC, Congress and other branches of government and the private and non-profit sectors. They include:

• Improve digital literacy for all Americans:
• Public funding for a Digital Literacy Corps to conduct skills training and outreach in communities with low rates of adoption, while building workforce skills for Corps members
• Increase the capacity and knowledge in libraries and community centers to provide digital literacy training
• Creation of an Online Skills Portal, containing free, age-appropriate lessons from the technology and education sectors that users can access and use at their own pace

Show how broadband is relevant:

• Public funding for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to support public-private partnerships
• Private and non-profit partnerships in national outreach and awareness campaigns
• Targeted support for seniors
• Make broadband more affordable:
• Expand to include broadband in two FCC programs that currently help make voice telephone service more affordable, known as Lifeline and Link-Up
• Consider use of spectrum for a free or very low cost wireless broadband service

• Use remaining Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA) funds to enhance state and local broadband initiatives and planning
• Augment this with increased focus on evaluation and assessment of all adoption programs
• Creation of a Best Practices Clearinghouse for practitioners to share lessons on how to improve broadband access, adoption and utilization