FCC chairman Julius Genachowski and representatives from the
Connect2Compete broadband initiative will join with HUD secretary Shaun
Donovan, Best Buy and others Thursday to announce a new national digital
literacy training program.
With the help of Best Buy's Geek Squad, the training program
will launch this spring.
According to the FCC, a third of Americans still don't
subscribe to broadband services at home and 60 million lack the digital
literacy to make best use of computers and the Internet.
Connect2Compete is the cable operator-backed public-private
partnership for broadband deployment and adoption to low-income households who
are not currently broadband subs. Not only do cable ops get to help out, but
they can potentially grow their customer base through the program.
C2C was launched by the FCC last November, expanding on Comcast'sInternet Essentials model of providing low-cost broadband -- $9.95 a month
-- digital literacy education and low-cost computers to every home with a
school-age child who qualifies for the nation's free-lunch program.
C2C had a three-year goal of raising $20 million to help
provide computers, access and training.
