Broadband services are an essential tool in today’s world, with profound impacts for the ways in which we live, work, and learn. The power of broadband can be adapted to meet the different needs of diverse populations and expand the boundaries of the possible across the entire landscape of society, improving health care; opening educational opportunities; stimulating economic development; forging community and social bonds; improving communication access for people with disabilities; and enhancing public safety.
The Alliance for Public Technology (APT), a coalition of individuals and public interest organizations, has been advancing the need for universal deployment of and access to broadband networks and services for almost two decades. While there has been progress in broadband deployment, policy makers and unserved or underserved sectors of our nation do not fully understand the range and the benefits of broadband applications. Full and equitable access to broadband will not be realized until there is a greater awareness of its impact.
This report documents specific examples of communities using high speed broadband to tackle local problems and maximize available resources. It includes, for example: students in Iowa who can share a real time learning experience with their peers in Singapore; expectant mothers in rural Arkansas who have live access to the advanced prenatal care of sub-specialists in Little Rock; and first responders in our nation’s capital who have instantaneous access to an unprecedented amount of critical information to better protect us.
The highlighted programs and applications utilize different platforms and different speeds. They target diverse audiences. But all share a common need for high-speed high-capacity networks and they all strive to improve the quality of life for their constituencies. It is not meant to be an exhaustive accounting of all the ways that broadband is being used for the public good, but it does provide a sampling of the wide ranging possibilities, such as:
Peter Backof - The Alliance for Public Technology
Full Report: http://www.apt.org/publications/reports-studies/broadband_initiatives.pdf