Number of Services Address Broadband Access Concerns for Aging Americans
The FCC is working on rules, educational campaigns and telecom billing issues, as well as on partnering with grassroots and advocacy groups for aging Americans, to try to help improve their digital literacy, agency officials said during a webinar Thursday.…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
The webinar is the first in a series tied to Older Americans Month, which was created with partners to highlight resources for professionals who work with seniors to address their digital literacy and broadband adoption needs, officials said. "It's so very important that seniors understand and appreciate how technology can be used to help improve lives," said Kris Monteith, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau acting chief. For many older Americans, digital literacy isn't a part of their lives, for a number of reasons, said Gwenn Weaver, NTIA program officer. Individuals may not have access to the technology or can't afford to acquire it, she said. They may not feel that the current technologies are relevant to them and their lives, or it just may be too unfamiliar and too scary. Access to and the ability to use information and communications technologies is critical for older Americans, as well, Weaver said. Seventy-seven percent of older adults say they would need assistance before using a new high-tech device, said Dina Lehmann-Kim, Department of Housing and Urban Development program manager. For those older Americans who use HUD services, the cost of devices and accompanying services are also a barrier, she said. HUD can help open and operate neighborhood networks or computer centers and hire staff to support those initiatives, she said. In-unit routers may also be purchased with some HUD funds, Lehmann-Kim said. Service coordinators can link residents in HUD housing to services or bring services on-site, she said. Software and hardware purchases from community centers or computer labs are also an available service from HUD that can benefit the aging population, she said.