Targeting School Lunch Programs to Reach America’s Most Vulnerable

By Chris McGovern, Manager, Research Development, Connected Nation

Across the board, households with lower incomes subscribe to broadband at a lower rate than higher-income households. The presence of this “Affordability Gap” can have a significant effect upon economic growth and opportunity – with the economy moving increasingly online, ensuring that every American has digital skills is crucial to economic growth, education, and workforce development.

But how much of a barrier is affordability? What is the most efficient and effective way of bridging the Affordability Gap? How many non-adopting households would be motivated to adopt broadband through low-cost incentive programs or targeted discounts? Is there any defining demographic characteristic of this community that would allow policymakers to efficiently target such initiatives?

According to a report released by Connected Nation today, titled “Broadband Adoption Among Low-Income Households: Insights from Connected Nation Research,” low-income households with children are at a particularly high risk, and this lack of broadband for such a large number of American schoolchildren affects the education and social welfare of our entire country. This report finds that 32% of households with children where the annual income is less than $25,000 do not have computers in the home, and 61% do not subscribe to home broadband service. In addition, based on our surveys, we estimate that 23% of households with children eligible (or near the eligibility threshold) for free or reduced lunches through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) do not own a computer, and 48% do not subscribe to home broadband service. If these figures are extrapolated to the nation as a whole, that would mean that approximately 2.9-3.9 million low-income households with children don’t have a home computer, and 5.5-8.1 million don’t subscribe to home broadband service.
These results, as well as a more in-depth analysis of barriers to adoption among low-income households, can be found here.

FCC: Competition is in the Eye of the Beholder

By Chris McGovern, Manager of Research Development for Connected Nation

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) just released its 15th Annual Mobile Wireless Competition Report. A lot of people have been waiting with bated breath for this report to be made public, some looking for a stamp of approval for provider activities (like changes in price models and mergers) while others were hoping the report would portray wireless providers as robber barons that have successfully quashed all competition. This 308-page behemoth, though, paints a more complicated picture of a mobile wireless environment where both successes and reasons for concern can be found.

According to the report, about 92% of Americans (or about 262 million people) can choose from two or more mobile broadband providers, but fewer than seven out of ten (67.8%, or about 193 million people) have four or more mobile broadband choices. There is also a rural/urban divide, as only 69% of rural residents have two or more mobile broadband choices, and only 17.3% of rural residents have four or more options. In fact, a measurement of market concentration (the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, or HHI) finds that the wireless market is “Highly Concentrated,” with four major national providers serving over 90 percent of the nation’s mobile wireless subscribers.

Yet not all is gloom and doom. As the FCC report points out, measures of concentration are not necessarily synonymous with a non-competitive market. It turns out the United States is following a global pattern, as mobile markets in many industrialized nations have just 3-4 major providers each. In the U.S. there is little variance in competition between census tracts with different median household incomes; tracts whose median household incomes are below $25,000 have an average of 3.3 mobile broadband providers, compared to 3.7 providers in tracts with median household incomes of $150,000 or more. The consumer price index (CPI) for the cellular market has decreased or remained the same every year since 1999, while the CPI for all goods and services has increased every year but one during that time period. In addition, mobile broadband providers show evidence of both price and non-price competition, a sign of healthy competition between carriers.

I suspect that in the end everyone will pick and choose some data out of this report, depending on the argument they want to make. Are there indicators that mobile competition can be improved upon? Yes, there are. Is there evidence that points to a competitive mobile market? That’s in there, too. Does this report show a market that is too complicated to resort to bumper sticker competitive analysis? Most definitely.

Fast Forward: Meeting the Technological Needs of South Carolina Residents

Connect South Carolina is working to identify community anchor institutions who play a pivotal role by providing broadband access to the general public including vulnerable populations such as low-income, unemployed, aged, children, minorities and people with disabilities. Here is one group’s story.

Since 1999, 11,000 South Carolinians have come to Fast Forward for assistance with their technological challenges. Some are taking advantage of computers for school assignments while others are completing technology certifications and looking for jobs. To meet those needs, the volunteers of Fast Forward, a Columbia, South Carolina nonprofit, are ready to help those who have been underserved through traditional programs.

“Fast Forward is about connections and helping people,” said Fast Forward Executive Director Dee Albritton. “I’ve seen people’s lives transformed.”

Albritton mentioned multiple examples of individuals whose lives have changed because of Fast Forward. Lucy volunteered at Fast Forward while she was in high school. After graduation, Lucy went on to college and later the Peace Corps where she started a community technology center in Namibia.

Another beneficiary was Jesse, who was living in her car when she first came to Fast Forward for help. Fast Forward helped her achieve technology certificates, learn life skills, and eventually obtain a job at a local grocery store. Jesse is now taking advantage of Fast Forward’s technology to search for a home.

Fast Forward also opened its doors to a local student working his way through high school and college without a computer at home. Fast Forward was where he went to complete his homework assignments.

Fast Forward also uses technology to teach community residents at the Babcock Center which serves adults with lifelong disabilities. Twice a week participants and program leaders come to Fast Forward to use technology to provide training on life skills. Also, Fast Forward is using technology to teach at-risk students geography, digital photography, robotics, nutrition, and many other creative classes. Creative classes include learning how to create cities using Google sketch and make music videos for local bands.

According to Albritton “there are technology jobs available, but people aren’t qualified for them.” Fast Forward is working to prepare people for these jobs.

Fast Forward is open to everyone. Class participants set up e-mail accounts that allow them to save their cover letters, resumes, thank-you letters, and class resources so that they can have access to Fast Forward tools if they move or relocate due to a job opportunity.

“Instead of teaching technology, we’re using technology to teach,” Albritton said.

USDA rural broadband loan program updated

Washington, DC - The USDA today released new information for applicants for its broadband loan program for rural areas. The program is designed to provide loans for the costs of construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment to provide broadband service to eligible rural communities.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA has issued a Notice of Solicitations of Applications and regulations implementing the 2008 Farm Bill for the broadband loan program.

“Broadband investments are an essential part of the Obama Administration’s effort to ‘win the future’ by out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building our global competitors,” Vilsack said in the announcement. “Investments in rural broadband networks create jobs and economic opportunity for rural America. Broadband is critical communications infrastructure of the twenty-first century, and it is vital to building vibrant rural communities.”

The notice is being issued prior to passage of a final appropriations act to allow applicants time to submit proposals and give the agency time to process applications within the current fiscal year, according to the USDA. Upon completion of a 2011 Appropriations Act, RUS will publish a subsequent notice identifying the amount of funding available for broadband loans.

The application guide to assist in preparing applications is available at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/utp_farmbill.html.

USDA’s Farm Bill broadband loan program has invested mote than $1 billion over the past decade in more than 100 projects nationwide, according to the USDA announcement. RUS is planning to schedule training opportunities to educate applicants on new program requirements, and how to submit complete and competitive applications. Dates for the training will be published on the USDA website.

Broadband Research Findings Presented to the South Carolina Public Service Commission

Connected Nation’s Senior Stakeholder Relations Manager Corey Johns and Public Policy Director Raquel Noriega were in Columbia, South Carolina on December 2 to present a program review, research results, and a planning update at the South Carolina Public Service Commission Telecommunications Workshop.

The commissioners were provided with an overview of the state’s interactive broadband availability map, research findings about barriers to broadband adoption, and observations about South Carolina’s broadband landscape including advancement opportunities and projected 2011 Connect South Carolina program activities. Download the presentation here.

A key portion of the presentation was devoted to examining the 2010 South Carolina Statewide Broadband Inventory. This is the first broadband inventory in South Carolina to break out the data by both speed tiers and platforms. It provides policymakers with a unique perspective on the state’s broadband infrastructure and illustrates the progress South Carolina is making towards meeting the broadband adoption goals established on a national level.

For instance, the National Broadband Plan targets 4 Mbps for download speeds. This inventory shows that 89% of the South Carolina households served have a download speed of at least 10 Mbps.

In looking at the state’s platform comparisons, DSL is available to 88% of South Carolina households, and cable modem is available to 79% of these residents. However, fiber to the home is available to 1.3%.

These findings will be published in a larger study early next year.

For more information about what Connect South Carolina is doing to promote broadband adoption in South Carolina communities, visit http://www.connectsc.org/.

Broadband Lets You Take Advantage of the Holiday Sales Without Leaving Your Home

Why stand in line when you can shop online?

For more than half of the households surveyed in Connect South Carolina’s 2010 Residential Technology Assessment, shopping online may be the way to go to avoid the long lines on Black Friday. In a survey of 1,200 South Carolina adults, 52% reported that they use broadband to shop for goods or services online.

This number is very likely to go up as people realize the cost benefits of saving time and money while using a high-speed connection to do their holiday shopping.

Source: 2010 Connect South Carolina Residential Technology Assessment www.connectsc.org

Connect South Carolina Releases State’s First Residential Technology Assessment

Survey of South Carolina Households Demonstrates Need to Improve Adoption and Use of Broadband among Minority, Low-Income, and Rural Populations

Columbia, SC — Connect South Carolina has released the South Carolina 2010 Residential Technology Assessment, which presents the results of a survey of South Carolina households on their use of broadband and information technology. The survey shows that in many areas, South Carolinians trail the nation in terms of broadband adoption and use of information technology.

This report, which is now available at http://www.connectsc.org/mapping_&_research/residential_technology_assessment.php, is the first in a series of reports that Connect South Carolina will be issuing over the next four years to benchmark and track the state’s advancement in technology. The assessment, in which 1,200 South Carolina residents were surveyed, measures technology adoption and the awareness of available broadband service - tracking trends and various uses of technology among key demographics and population groups across the state.

“This statewide survey on broadband is the first of its kind in South Carolina – and it shows that a lot of work needs to be done to improve adoption and use of broadband and information technology in the state,” said Brian Mefford, CEO of Connect South Carolina’s nonprofit parent organization, Connected Nation. “Expanding the use and adoption of broadband will benefit South Carolina’s economy, education, and health of its citizens, and this survey is an important step forward in building awareness of these benefits.”

Here are some of the top benchmarks and findings:
• Across South Carolina, 62% of adults subscribe to home broadband service. By comparison, a recent survey conducted by the FCC found that 67% of all American households subscribe to broadband.
• In South Carolina, 42% of African Americans subscribe to broadband. This compares to a national average of 56% of African Americans subscribing to broadband in 2010 according to Pew.
• Only 46% of rural households subscribe to broadband service at home, significantly trailing the statewide average of 62%.
• Despite the benefits of home broadband adoption, there is still a marked awareness gap in South Carolina. While nearly eight of ten South Carolinians own a home computer, of those adults that do not subscribe to broadband, 42% believe they do not need it, and 8% of all South Carolina households have not even investigated whether broadband service is available where they live.
• Mobile broadband service (either via a laptop computer or cell phone/mobile device) is utilized by 29% of adults in South Carolina.

Connect South Carolina is a public-private partnership uniting local governments, businesses, and citizens in the goal of increasing broadband service in the state’s unserved and underserved areas.

As the state’s designee under the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) State Broadband Data and Development (SBDD) Grant Program, Connect South Carolina has been awarded approximately $4 million in Recovery Act funding to support the increase of the availability and use of high-speed Internet service in the state. The funding enables the state to collect data, promote broadband capacity, provider analysis and technical support for a period of five years.

Residents are encouraged to visit the website www.connectsc.org and take advantage of the resources available to provide feedback on their broadband needs, test their connectivity, and shop for local providers.

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