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Providers are extending healthcare to rural patients with financial assistance from the rural healthcare pilot program, a six-year-old initiative that provides funds for telehealth projects. So far, the program has committed an estimated $369 million of the total $415 million set aside, according to an evaluation published Aug. 13 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

"In response to a Congressional directive to inquire whether broadband "is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion," the FCC concluded in its Sixth Broadband Deployment Report that between 14 and 24 million Americans still lack access to broadband, and the immediate prospects for deployment to them are bleak."

A final nail in the open set-top box coffin could come soon. The FCC currently prohibits cable providers from encrypting basic cable channels in order to preserve compatibility with third-party devices. But these third-party devices have become increasingly rare, so the FCC is considering dropping the encryption ban altogether.

"Declaring expansion of broadband Internet access the nation's next great infrastructure challenge, federal regulators on Monday unveiled an ambitious, decade-long strategy to make super high-speed connections available in every corner of the country. The plan by the Federal Communications Commission sets a goal of making sure at least 100 million homes have affordable access to networks that allow them to download data from the Internet at speeds of at least 100 megabits per second - at least 20 times faster than what most people get today. The proposal, which will be sent to Congress, also seeks to put ultra-fast Internet access of 1 gigabit per second in public facilities such as schools, hospitals and government buildings in every community."

Google may be rolling out 1Gbps Internet access to Kansas City, but there are about 19 million American households and businesses that still lack any access to broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Most of them are in rural areas, and some will soon benefit from broadband projects financed by one of the last pillars of the FCC's National Broadband Plan: the Connect America Fund. "I'm pleased to announce today that nearly 400,000 residents and businesses in rural communities who currently lack access to high-speed Internet will gain access within the next three years," declared FCC Chair Julius Genachowski on Thursday.

The Federal Communications Commission has voted unanimously to reform the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation system. It is creating a new Connect America Fund, with a budget of US$4.5 billion to meet the end-goal of this policy shift: extending broadband infrastructure to rural Americans, as opposed to subsidizing rural phone service.

Expanding wireless broadband coverage to 98 percent of Americans remains a key priority for the Obama administration in its fiscal year 2013 budget proposal. To help do this, President Obama has proposed a boost in funding for the Federal Communications Commission and the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, two agencies leading an effort to increase the availability of spectrum needed to help expand wireless broadband to most Americans. Some of this new spectrum would come from empowering the FCC authority to auction off spectrum wheedled out of broadcasters.

Broadband internet access in general, and mobile broadband in particular, are becoming increasingly important to national economies and the personal lives of users.  In the US alone there  were about 84.4 million mobile broadband connections at the beginning of 2011, virtually the same as the number of fixed broadband connection (FCC 2011, Table 1).   Nevertheless, as with nearly all new technology, broadband availability and  adoption are  not diffusing as quickly in rural areas or  among certain minority groups.  This article presents an up to date view of the rural and minority digital divide based on latest statistics, showing that significant divides in both availability and usage persist.  The  potential for mobile broadband to be an engine of growth for rural economic development is then examined.  Mobile broadband  also  holds significant potential for urban areas as well, given  the  importance of broadband, particularly mobile broadband, for urban minority communities.

The US is a long way from its goal of making broadband Internet available to all 314 million Americans. In its third annual broadband progress report, the Federal Communications Commission says 19 million Americans have no option to buy fixed broadband Internet service, and an additional 100 million Americans that do live in areas where broadband is available are not subscribers.

"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is working to connect rural households to broadband through the Connect America Fund. The Fund provides capital to private sector companies in order to help shoulder the cost of building out broadband networks to those homes. However, two of the largest service providers have opted out of the the free money saying that they would prefer to focus their attention elsewhere. One provider, Frontier Communications is stepping up to the plate citing significant business value in bringing these households online, a view which raises more questions about whether AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast are creating artificial network scarcity in order to provide a better picture for shareholders at the expense of American competitiveness."

Cette nouvelle fracture préoccupe à ce point les autorités que la Federal Communications Commission réfléchit à dépenser 200 millions de dollars pour créer un corps de formateurs dédié à l'alphabétisation numérique. Ce groupe composé de milliers de personnes parcourrait les écoles et les universités pour enseigner l'usage intelligent des ordinateurs aux parents, aux élèves et aux chercheurs d'emploi. Il s'appuierait aussi sur des réseaux de formation déjà existants et des initiatives déjà en place de formation au numérique. La FCC et les autres décideurs disent vouloir toujours mettre l'informatique dans la main de tous les Américains, car le fossé reste important. Selon elle, près de 65 % des Américains ont un accès à internet chez eux, mais on tombe à 40 % pour les foyers aux revenus les plus bas. 50 % des Hispaniques et 40 % des Afro-américains n'ont pas d'accès à l'internet. Il ne s'agit donc pas de limiter l'accès. Mais, selon la célèbre ethnographe américaine danah boyd, "l'accès n'est pas la panacée. Non seulement ça ne résout pas le problème, mais cela reflète et magnifie les problèmes existants". Comme beaucoup de chercheurs, danah boyd pense que l'effort initial de réduction de la fracture numérique n'avait pas anticipé que les ordinateurs seraient utilisés à ce point à des fins de divertissement.

"Communications regulators, drawing on recommendations from a recent mobile health task force report, look to launch initiatives that will facilitate broadband-enabled healthcare technologies, particularly for mobile apps."

"Now that President Obama has been re-elected, it's time to get down to business. We know that middle-class jobs are important for the economy to continue growing over the next four years. The broadband market becomes a launch-pad in opportunities to create needed jobs, if the right policies are set into motion. Let's look at the technology landscape and determine how to achieve a robust and competitive marketplace which advances stated goal of bringing back higher tax revenues, which job creation, can accomplish. Revitalising the market with true competition should be the base of any tech policy initiative. If it does not meet that basic requirement, there's no need to bother."

"IR.U is a new coalition by the founders of Gig.U that will bring Super Wi-Fi networks - better known to some as White Space networks, or wireless internet over unlicensed and unused TV channels - to over 500 educational institutions across the US. Comprised of higher education associations, public interest groups, and private tech companies like Microsoft and Google, AIR.U aims to offer fast, reliable internet to remote schools and universities in areas otherwise too remote for wired broadband."