Great news from Washington, DC. Federal Communications Chairman Julius Genachowski and Housing & Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan have announced that HUD is adding its support to Connect2Compete.
Connect2Compete is, of course, the coalition of libraries, non-profits, and for-profits that are working together to improve digital access and literacy among our nation’s neediest citizens.
It’s not just tepid support that HUD is providing, either. HUD and C2C have already begun a digital literacy training pilot program at HUD sites in Macon, Georgia, Cook County, Illinois, and San Diego, California.
HUD seems like a perfect partner for the Connect2Compete program. The federal department already works with 4.5 million needy families from coast to coast.
HUD people will work to raise awareness of the C2C program and encourage low-income families to register for inexpensive high-speed internet and refurbished laptop computers.
This isn’t the first time C2C has teamed up with the federal government. The FCC unveiled a very similar partnership with the Department of Labor in mid 2012.
This is a critical moment for the Connect2Compete program and its new partners. One-third of American homes still have no access to the internet. And high-speed digital access is becoming more important to success in school and employment.
According to the FCC, “Within the next decade, it’s estimated that nearly 80 percent of jobs will require digital skills. Already, more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies, from Walmart and Target to Best Buy, require online job applications.”
CheapInternet.com predicts that HUD won’t be the last government agency to support Connect2Compete. A program this important deserves the full attention of every government agency. It’s vital to the future of our people and our nation.
barbara Stmary says
internet for $70. a month is crazy.
barbara Stmary says
When there was the company known as Qwest we had some breathing room. I had a phone to call for doctor appointments and people locally. I took a class because I was informed that our government was going to email correspondences . This is very true To contact the majrity of our representatives is through E MAIL.
QWst sold out to Century Link. My bill went from 419.99 to 474.00.
I am on the TAP program. I dropped the phone and the bill is the same. That is a weeks supply of groceries.
Now I have physical disabilities and the computer was given to me so I may communicate with others.
I am being forced to choose what to do.
NOW NURSING HOMES cost the public more than allowing the senior citisen on Social security to stay in our own homes and live out our lives.
We didnt need cell phones and internet untl the year 2000,
vtrucs says
Renda,
That’s not a bug, it’s a feature. According to many sources, Centurylink didn’t want to provide this in the first place. So they put a condition in place: there can be no prior land line provider in the area. Guess how many areas of the country qualify based on that?
Oh, and good luck finding someone to pay attention to this bad faith “compliance” with the terms set for CenturyLink to merge with Qwest. The FCC says “Tsktsk, life’s rough”, and there in no one else.
Renda Luvaas says
I and several friends have applied to the “Internet Basics Program” offered by CenturyLink only to be told that it isn’t in our area. Yet ,we all can (some of us already are) get regular service in our area provided by CenturyLink. So how does that work?????