Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Technology
Technology

Pres. Obama Signs Executive Order To Help Reduce Cost of Internet Access

Posted byBy Stan | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

President Obama has just signed an executive order that could greatly reduce the cost of broadband Internet access by up to 90 percent.

The order makes it faster, easier, and cheaper to get broadband equipment set up on federally owned property, including roadways and federal buildings.

Currently, these properties are managed by a range of different agencies, and each agency has its own way of handling broadband providers’ requests for leases on the properties. Today’s new order gives agencies “a uniform approach for allowing broadband carriers to build networks on and through those assets and speed the delivery of connectivity to communities, businesses, and schools.”

“Building a nationwide broadband network will strengthen our economy and put more Americans back to work,” said President Obama in a statement today.

“By connecting every corner of our country to the digital age, we can help our businesses become more competitive, our students become more informed and our citizens become more engaged.”

The White House is also announcing today a new partnership called U.S. Ignite, an initiative from cities, companies, and other organizations to make more and better software for medicine, manufacturing, emergency services, energy, education, and other industries — and to make that software at a much faster pace. Basically, the idea is to imagine “an Internet without limits” and how such a public utility could change our lives and our country.

Mozilla is one of the partners for U.S. Ignite and, together with the National Science Foundation, is offering a hefty $500,000 in prize money for the best innovations and hacks. Applications for Mozilla Ignite will open on August 1, 2012. So far, some of the submissions are pretty creative, including a platform for conducting surgery remotely and better food transportation and food supply management.

Many nonprofit organizations are assisting with U.S. Ignite and will be announcing hack days and startup weekends to get applications onto the market as quickly as possible.

Source: Jolie Odell, Venture Beat

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top