More Americans have access to broadband today than in the past but that’s not stopping President Barack Obama from doing everything he can to get more people surfing.
This image was taken by Matt H. Wade
Obama signed a memorandum Monday officially creating the Broadband Opportunity Council, a new federal initiative geared toward increasing investment in broadband projects. At the same time, the council is being tasked with identifying and reducing barriers to broadband across America.
The same day, a fact sheet was issued by the White House outlining the president’s plan and announcing Obama’s initial goal to provide 98 percent of Americans with access to high-speed, mobile broadband has been achieved.
“Today I can announce that we have achieved that goal and we did it ahead of schedule,” Obama said during brief remarks at the White House Science Fair, The Washington Post reported.
However, the new council will add to that number as it will include more than two dozen federal agencies and departments. Those government bodies, CNet reported, will team up with private industry to ensure broadband access is even broader than it is currently.
The council is set to report within 150 days highlighting the steps each agency will take to advance these goals. Specific regulatory actions and budget proposals are to be included in the report.
In addition, though details have not been released, the White House also announced the Community Broadband Summit for June. The summit will carry forward the momentum, assist communities’ leaders in learning from one another and include reports on broadband initiative project’s progress.
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Obama Announces Broadband Opportunity Council
W. Brice McVicar is a staff writer for SiteProNews.
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