Goal No. 3: Every American should have affordable access to robust broadband service, and the means and skills to
subscribe if they so choose.
Not having access to broadband applications limits an individual’s ability to participate in 21st century American life. Health care, education and other important aspects of American life are moving online. What’s more, government services and democratic participation are shifting to digital platforms. This plan recommends government use the Internet to increase its own transparency and make more of its data available online. Getting everyone online will improve civic engagement—a topic this plan also addresses by recommending a more robust digital public ecosystem.
Three requirements must be satisfied to ensure every American can take advantage of broadband. First, every American
home must have access to network services. Second, every household should be able to afford that service. Third, every American should have the opportunity to develop digital skills.
The plan recommends reforming existing support mechanisms to foster deployment of broadband in high-cost areas:
specifically, the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation. The plan outlines a 10-year, three-stage course
of action to transform these programs to connect those who do not have access to adequate broadband infrastructure.2 Rather than add new burdens to the already strained contribution base, we must make the tough choice to shift existing support that is not advancing public policy goals in order to directly focus those resources on communities unserved by broadband.
To promote affordability, this plan also proposes extending the Lifeline and Link-Up programs to support broadband. To
promote digital skills, we need to ensure every American has access to relevant, age-appropriate digital literacy education,
for free, in whatever language they speak, and we neeed to create a Digital Literacy Corps.Achieving this goal will likely lead to an adoption rate higher than 90% by 2020 and reduced differences in broadband adoption among demographic groups.
To the end, government can make broadband more accessible to people with disabilities. It can also work with Tribal
governments to finally improve broadband deployment and adoption on Tribal lands.3 And it can ensure small businesses— many of which are owned by women and minorities—have the opportunity to purchase broadband service at reasonable rates.