Clyburn Cites Digital Literacy, Affordability Hurdles in Efforts to Close Digital Divide
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said digital literacy and affordability are vital to efforts to bridge the digital divide. She supported efforts to remove regulatory barriers to broadband deployment, but said rolling out fiber to homes "is not the same as…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
making service available to the residents" if they can't afford it or use it. "What if they do not have a computer? And what if they do not understand the relevance of broadband to their lives," she said in remarks to the Montana High Tech Jobs Summit in Missoula Monday. "Too often, we declare 'mission accomplished' when we’ve connected a home that has been forever without, but I challenge you to take a more nuanced view. We should only claim victory, when a consumer is meaningfully using their connectivity, to take advantage of the economic, educational, and healthcare opportunities, it affords. ... In short, we must fight against the perpetual and persistent issues surrounding connectivity inequality. Do you think that those in rural America should be relegated to second-class broadband? I don’t. Nor do I believe, that the urban poor should be digitally redlined."