Nov 19, 2008

I've been spending even more time than usual focusing on broadband policy, both because it's a topic that's fundamental to so many other tech policy matters and because we're developing the program for our first Regional Broadband Innovation (RBI) Summit & Expo in Silicon Valley.

I'll be at a rural broadband workshop in Phoenix tomorrow that is being hosted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and I just finished watching the Internet Innovation Alliance's (IIA) National Broadband Strategy Symposium at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Co-founded by D.C. veterans Bruce Mehlman and Larry Irving, IIA is a coalition of businesses and nonprofits that has rallied together to advocate for a comprehensive national broadband plan, and today's Symposium featured an eclectic group of speakers who addressed why they believe it's time for a national approach as well.

There were a few presentations, in particular, that illustrated how broadband can make a difference in people's lives in real and meaningful ways that -- in my opinion -- aren't discussed nearly enough.

One of those presenters was Dr. Elaine Kamarck of Harvard Kennedy School, a public policy lecturer who worked in the White House for President Clinton and was a senior policy advisor to Vice President Gore during his 2000 presidential campaign. Dr. Kamarck has been researching the use of information and communciations technology to fight poverty in countries around the world, and she talked about how the Internet can help anti-poverty efforts in the U.S. by improving fraud monitoring and access to benefit programs.

She also explained how broadband connectivity can expand possibilities for healthcare through telemedicine and can decrease the isolation that often affects poor people, especially in rural communities. Her message about broadband's potential to generate "quantum leaps in productivity" if applied to meet the needs of those living in poverty put the discussion in a new perspective for me.

We are already partnering with a few organizations that are working to deliver broadband to low-income and underserved individuals. However, if you are reading this post and, by chance, are involved in a nonprofit or other group that is working on issues related to broadband and poverty, I hope you'll contact us to introduce yourself. I'd like to include this topic in the RBI Summit we're hosting on April 22nd.

Tags: broadband, Bruce Mehlman, FCC, Internet Innovation Alliance, Larry Irving, Regional Broadband Innovation, telemedicine, USDA