BY: Manny Diaz
Former mayor of Miami, Florida

This summer, the Pew Research Center reported that the percentage of American adults who have a broadband internet connection at home increased to 66 percent in the last year. This shows us that in our growing, global digital economy no one wants to be left behind – and that Americans increasingly realize that keeping up requires a high-speed broadband connection. Regardless, there are millions of Americans who still lack access for any number of reasons – and unfortunately, a disproportionate number of these people are minorities.

As our society increasingly goes digital for essential and special services, expanding affordability and access is an integral part of the digital revolution, especially in low-income and minority communities that have traditionally been left behind. Access to the Internet means increased access to everything from educational and professional opportunities to interacting with government agencies, shopping and even keeping in contact with friends and family. It also means increased access to life-changing telemedicine applications that can save both time and money. With every new and more-advanced technology the opportunities and benefits that broadband can offer increase. Consequently, so does the cost of digital exclusion for those who do not have access.

According to a February 2010 study by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, 59% of Hispanics and 69% of African-Americans have taken advantage of digital opportunities and adopted broadband as opposed to 79% of whites. In a sluggish economy where all Americans have felt the squeeze, this means missed opportunities both on the job front and in the classroom for disconnected minority Americans already struggling to compete. If this great nation is going to reach its full potential, we must correct this so that we can grow stronger from our core. It is critical that we focus on making progress in the areas of broadband access and affordability to ensure that the benefits of broadband enable all Americans to survive and thrive in the 21st Century and beyond.

We are already making progress in this area. In fact, studies show that affordable tools like netbooks and smartphones are helping minority families take advantage of what broadband technology has to offer, making mobile broadband a key player in keeping inner-city and rural neighborhoods from being left behind by the digital revolution. This is a positive trend and we need to ensure that it continues. As such, we must consider how any Internet policies would affect this trend in minority and low-income communities in general. We cannot allow onerous regulation to stand in the way of this positive progress.

The Internet is not broken and excessive regulation is not necessary – instead of going down that road we need to remain focused on how we can expand affordable access of this great tool to all Americans. We need Congress to take the lead on pursuing sensible legislation that helps to make broadband a reality for the millions currently not connected.

Access to high speed Internet is an empowering tool that can enable all Americans to seek a better future. It is important that we continue to work with public policy makers and the private sector on approaches to lower the cost of broadband in minority communities and to raise awareness in those communities of what broadband means to their economic future. We must continue on the path of growing broadband access and encouraging technological advancement in order to build a brighter tomorrow.

Source: NextGenWeb

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