The FCC recently released working recommendations for key priorities that will be part of next month's unveiling of the National Broadband Plan. The recommendations are meant to bring greater high-speed Internet availability to the health care, education, and energy sectors, and move the federal government into a new era of engagement and transparency.

The Federal Government announced nearly $1 billion in Recovery Act awards to train over 10,000 new health IT workers and promote meaningful adoption of emerging technology in the health care industry.

Broadband infrastructure is expanding job opportunities and increasing access to healthcare in rural villages across the world. The latest example comes from Uttar Pradesh, India.

On January 15, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announced the availability of $4.8 billion of funding for grants and loans to expand broadband access and adoption in America. This is the second round of funding that was allotted as part of the 2009 economic stimulus bill.

The United States economy could save $197 billion over 25 years by implementing policies that support remote monitoring and other telemedicine technologies, according to a new report.

The Communications Workers of America commends Representative Rick Boucher (D-Va.) for his work to ensure that all Americans have access to high quality broadband. Congressman Boucher has called on the Federal Communications Commission to include universal availability of true high speed broadband as part of its National Broadband Plan.

Tuesday, November 3 was a big day in the history of telemedicine: a newborn baby?s heart murmur was diagnosed remotely, in real time.

USDA Rural Development and Cooperstown-based Bassett Healthcare joined forces to demonstrate the life saving capabilities of broadband and medical technologies, on Oct. 27. The event celebrated USDA's 60th Anniversary of its Telecommunications Program.

UnitedHealthcare (UHC) is developing a national telehealth network to increase physician presence in underserved communities - both rural and urban. Telehealth is the emerging practice of using cameras, microphones, and often robots to connect patients and doctors that are not in the same place. These systems run on high-speed and high-capacity Internet connections, which makes it difficult for those in rural areas to gain access.

The FCC is continuing its series of workshops on the state of broadband deployment and adoption throughout the nation. During the first week of September, two workshops focused on state and local government broadband initiatives and recommendations for broadband benchmarks. Participants included officials from various state and local governments, representatives of several non-profit policy organizations, including Speed Matters' partners One Economy and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), as well as academics and industry representatives.