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WASHINGTON, December 7, 2009 - A new report using an innovative approach to broadband data finds that the percentage of households in the United States that have adopted high-speed internet services is 72.9 percent. The report was generated by comparing the Census blocks in which broadband is available with the number of subscribers that carriers report to the Federal Communications Commission. By linking the number of subscribers in a particular state (from FCC data) to a data-set of Census block-by-Census block tabulations of broadband availability, consultant Brian Webster believes that he is able to peg the nation-wide broadband adoption rate for homes passed at 72.9 percent. That number is about 10 percentage points higher than what other studies have found. That's not surprising - precisely because he is attempting to count adoption of homes passed, and not of the population as a whole. “That’s a difference that could have a significant impact on the decisions made to deploy broadband in the remaining un-served markets,” says Webster. One other facet to the data used in the report: the FCC data used in the report also includes mobile broadband counts, in addition to wireline broadband counts. Because a home could have two or more broadband...

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By Christina Kirchner, Reporter-Researcher, BroadbandCensus.com

October 6, 2009 - The Federal Communication Commission hosted a “field hearing” in Charleston, S.C., on October 6, 2009, as part of as part of its series of workshops and testimony in preparing a national broadband plan. One panel at the hearing focused on expanding digital literacy to the elderly, and to those whose professions rely heavily on the Internet. Finding ways to help mend the health care system was also on the agenda. Having seamless medical care would be ideal for older populations, said Otha Meadows, CEO of Trident Area Agency on Aging. It would be beneficial to have a patient’s medical records travel from one state to facilitated specialized health care. Doing so would also provide better statistics and vital signs taken from the patient through broadband from the comfort of their own home, and not at the doctor’s office. However, telemedicine is not the only aspect of society that has affected by the advances of broadband. Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps highlighted the fact that, as he said, “75 percent of Fortune 500 Companies hire their employees off the web.” Such a development might be beneficial from the perspective of reducing printing costs, but Copps said...

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The Federal Communications Commission is going to South Carolina on Monday, October 5, and Tuesday, October 6. Today, Today, the FCC hosts a consumer forum on broadband at Ravenel Community Hall in Ravenal, S.C., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The forum, according to the FCC, the event “is designed to provide an open dialogue between consumers and government officials in order to develop a more comprehensive and inclusive National Broadband Plan.” On Wednesday morning, the FCC will hold a field hearing on broadband adoption, headlined by FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn, who hails from South Carolina, and Michael Copps, who worked for former Sen. Ernest “Fritz” Hollings, S.C. And on Wednesday afternoon, how broadband has enabled the Medical University of South Carolina to serve rural areas through telemedicine will be among the points of discussion in an event at the university with Clyburn and Copps. The officials are scheduled to describe the research institution’s support for advanced stroke treatment services, prenatal care and other health care services for women that have been made possible via broadband networks. MUSC is part of the Palmetto State Providers Network, which connects four rural and underserved regions to a fiber optic backbone being developed in the...

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By Mercy Gakii, Reporter-Researcher, BroadbandCensus.com

WASHINGTON, September 22, 2009 – Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said Monday that a large percentage of African Americans still have not made the use of the Internet a priority in their lives, especially at home. Speaking Monday at the Media and Policy Institute policy forum that discussed a national broadband plan, Clyburn pointed out that the use of mobile telephone services has been well received by the African-American community, although the reception for internet services is less than impressive. Only 46 per cent of African-Americans use broadband in their homes, while only 63 per cent of Americans have subscribed to broadband, she said. “The world is fast becoming dependent on the use of internet for almost all their services, and community access to broadband is a great equalizer.” She cited the use of broadband to make services, such as telemedicine, available to the users in South Carolina. It was one example of a reason to adopt the use of broadband to improve their lifestyles. The biggest block to access of broadband in homes is the challenge of relevance. Even though costs of running the service are high, many African-American homes still have no access to the Internet and broadband in...

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Map Presents a Census Block-by-Census Block Display of Availability, Technologies and Carriers Offering Broadband Within and Around Columbia, S.C.

Press Release

WASHINGTON, September 2, 2009 – BroadbandCensus.com announced that it has released a beta version of a public broadband map of Richland County, South Carolina, which is available at http://BroadbandCensusMaps.com. The map presents a Census block-by-Census block display of the availability, technologies and carriers offering broadband service within the area of Columbia, S.C. This beta map continues to be under active development by BroadbandCensus.com, and feedback is encouraged. Unlike some other broadband maps in existence, the Broadband Census map includes carrier data at the Census block level. The map presents a detailed footprint of the major cable provider, Time Warner, and the major digital subscriber line provider, AT&T. For each of the 8,078 Census blocks in Richland County, the map displays the presence or absence of broadband, the speed at which the broadband is promised, and the carriers that offer the service. Because the interactive map renders thousands of polygon data within the display, load times can be long. Additionally, the beta map is best viewed using the Firefox or Safari web browsers. As part of its efforts to create the broadband map, BroadbandCensus.com also...

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By Douglas Streeks, Reporter-Researcher, BroadbandCensus.com

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2009 - Widespread broadband deployment and adoption is essential to economic recovery as well as social justice, House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C. said Tuesday morning at the July BroadbandCensus.com Breakfast Club. The recovery package planning process has been "one of the most rewarding experiences" Clyburn has had since joining the Congress, he said. But while Clyburn compared the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to the New Deal programs of the 1930s, he soberly noted that many of the programs instituted by President Roosevelt left out minority communities like those he represents. “If you go back, you will notice most of the communities that I represent were left out," he said. Broadband access in particular could help rural America in areas like health information technology, Clyburn said. If broadband deployment isn't done correctly, any national health care strategy will fail, he said. Clyburn’s daughter Mignon Clyburn, formerly of the South Carolina Public Service Commission, has been nominated by President Obama for one of five slots on the Federal Communications Commission. Mignon Clyburn’s Senate Confirmation hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. Following introductory remarks was a panel discussion on “How the FCC's National Broadband Plan Will Affect Spending.” The event was...

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By Andrew Feinberg, Deputy Editor, BroadbandCensus.com

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2009 - The White House announced its intention to nominate South Carolina Public Service Commissioner Mignon Clyburn to the Federal Communications Commission late Wednesday. If confirmed, Clyburn would fill the Democratic seat being vacated by Democrat Jonathan Adelstein, who has been tapped to run the Agriculture Department's Rural Utility Service. She would also fill a seat on the FCC that is by custom occupied by a state-level commissioner, previously Republican Deborah Taylor Tate, who was a director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority before serving on the FCC during the Bush administration. Clyburn, the daughter of House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., was first elected to the South Carolina Public Service Commission in 1998. South Carolina PSC members are elected officials who serve four year, staggered terms. Clyburn has also been in charge of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' Washington Action Program for the past three years, coordinating lobbying efforts by state utility commissioners. Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps hailed the White House announcement of Clyburn, calling her "an excellent choice" to join the commission. "The experience she brings...will be an invaluable asset as we address the many challenges and opportunities that are before us,"...

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By Don Samuelson, Special Correspondent, BroadbandCensus.com

CHICAGO, April 21, 2009 - Representatives with broadband interests from southeastern states met at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina on April 15, 2009, to discuss the status of broadband in their states and common approaches they might take to advance their interests. Most of the participants stayed on for the "Towns and Cities" conference at Benedict the next day, on Thursday, April 16. The primary topics of discussion related to the grants from the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service. Because of the value of responding to multiple objectives, the conversation expanded to include the potential stimulus funds for education and health care, and opportunities for meeting the needs of at-risk populations and promoting broadband adoption. There was also discussion of the best ways to gather and display data to provide evidence in support of stimulus proposals that might be generated in their states.  There was a discussion of the value of overlaying demographic information on top of data related to the location and nature of broadband access at a granular level. Consultant Chuck Sherwood summarized the efforts at regional idea-sharing in the New England states that has been going...

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