On the heels of Tuesday's announcement of a new GOALinitiative to help seniors adopt broadband, the FCC has announced that a
small business broadband adoption public-private partnership will launch
Wednesday (Apr. 7).
The initiative will combine SCORE, the volunteer arm of the
Small Business Administration, with private partners including AT&T, Best
Buy, Cisco, Constant Contact, Google, HP, Intuit, Microsoft, Skype, and Time
Warner Cable.
One of the benefits of broadband, and one especially touted
by Vice President Joe Biden, is its ability to help small businesses become
more competitive with larger U.S.
and international competitors. "The plan found that broadband can be a
transformational force for these businesses and their surrounding
communities," the FCC said in announcing the initiative.
The FCC's recently-released national broadband plan called
for the creation of just such a public-private partnership, and Chairman Julius
Genachowski will be on hand for the Wednesday morning kick-off.
