MMTC Faults White House Broadband Plan for Not Addressing Digital Redlining, 'Vulnerable' Populations
The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) said it supports the goals of the White House’s plans to increase access to affordable high-speed broadband (see 1501140048), but said the plan doesn’t adequately address “the much larger challenge of broadband adoption…
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that continues to promulgate second class digital citizenship among more vulnerable populations that include people of color, seniors, people with disabilities, and the poor.” The White House’s plan also doesn’t address how to end digital redlining, the practice of refusing to deploy broadband in low-income communities on par with service to wealthier communities, MMTC said in a statement. Industry groups continued to react Wednesday and Thursday to the White House’s plan, with Comptel CEO Chip Pickering saying in a statement that the “renewed focus on removing regulatory barriers and improving investment incentives are more steps in the right direction to ensure that American consumers can enjoy faster broadband services and lower costs.” The plan means Obama has joined with “Americans who are standing up for the right of local communities to bring high-speed broadband to their residents, no matter how small their community is,” Public Knowledge Vice President-Government Affairs Chris Lewis said in a statement.