Rick Boucher Plans Trip to Woolwine, VA - Broadband Announcement
May 21, 2010
Congressman Rich Boucher, 9th District, Virginia, will make an appearance on June 5 at Woolwine Elementary School to make an announcement with CenturyLink on expansion of Broadband services in Patrick County.
His web site reports on this subject recently.
Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet Hearing
The National Broadband Plan: Promoting Broadband Adoption
May 13, 2010
This morning we conduct the fourth in a series of hearings focusing on the National Broadband Plan.
Last month, the Subcommittee considered how best to deploy broadband to areas that are unserved and underserved, so that all Americans, particularly those in rural areas, may benefit from this essential infrastructure.
Our hearing today is a corollary to our hearing on broadband deployment: Once Americans have access to quality broadband services, what steps should be taken to encourage them to subscribe to it
According to the National Broadband Plan, about 35 percent of Americans, or about 80 million adults, do not use broadband at home. This number includes high percentages of low-income households, minorities, seniors, individuals with low levels of education, residents of rural areas and people with disabilities.
The National Broadband Plan identifies several barriers to broadband adoption: cost; digital literacy, including discomfort with computers; concerns about Internet safety and security; and a perceived lack of relevance of broadband to peoples’ lives.
One proposal to make broadband more affordable for low-income households is to expand the Lifeline and Link-Up programs of the Universal Service Fund to cover broadband services. I want to commend my colleague, Ms. Matsui, for her leadership in this area, including the introduction of legislation regarding this matter. It is my hope that we will soon be prepared to mark up the Universal Service Reform measure which Mr. Terry and I have put forward, and I look forward to working with the gentlelady from California to assure that her goals are reflected in that legislation.
