The Joint Center Explores the Impact of the National Broadband Plan on the Underserved

Cross-posted from the Minority Media & Telecomm Council Newsletter

On March 2nd, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies hosted a forum that assessed whether the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan is being implemented in a timely manner and whether it is positively impacting underserved populations. Attendees included Blair Levin, the "architect" of the Plan, along with Ed Lazarus, Chief of Staff to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, and several other policy experts.

Among many highlights was Blair Levin's opening remarks, which identified essential themes that should animate broadband policymaking efforts going forward. In particular, Levin mentioned that, "in terms of priorities, we spend too much on deployment to real estate and not enough on adoption by people." This point was further emphasized by Nicol Turner-Lee, Director of the Joint Center's Media & Technology Institute, who turned the conversation toward the broadband adoption needs of minority communities. Indeed, analyzing how to increase broadband adoption among minorities has long been a priority of the Joint Center, which has released several studies assessing the myriad barriers to more robust utilization of this technology among Blacks and Hispanics.

A number of potential next steps were identified by participants. Blair Levin suggested phasing out the Lifeline/Link-up programs in favor of more targeted funding solutions. Others focused on a variety of legal and regulatory fixes that might encourage more adoption. The key take-away from the forum was that increasing broadband adoption is a problem best solved at the local level by implementing carefully tailored approaches to increasing digital literacy skills and raising awareness of the life-enhancing benefits of broadband.

Speech to the Joint Center on Political and Economic Studies: My Mistake; Our Opportunity (Blair Levin)

Media & Technology Publications (Joint Center)

Joint Center Convenes Panel to Promote Adoption for Underserved Communities (Broadband Breakfast)