A third of Americans have no high-speed Internet service at home, and it can be a challenge as daily life, from school to the job hunting, increasingly go online.
Now, the federal Government is trying to open up access to more people with a new initiative to provide $ 150 laptop for free and reduced-lunch-eligible school families, and two years for $ 9.95 per month Internet services free school lunch-eligible families.
Nonprofit leaders and executives from the leading Internet service providers, technology companies, and non-profits have made a commitment in the form. "Connecting to compete"–private nonprofit sector National partnership goes beyond Government–will carry out the initiative. Connect to compete will launch a nationwide pilot program that began in the spring of 2012.
Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, described in "The early Show" that, for many people, the cost is prohibitive, but other issues also raised people from getting Internet at home.
"Digital literacy is a barrier," he said. "Many people don't know how to use the computer. Many people do not appreciate the value. Here is what this is about: we hear from ahigh school girl in Florida that the homework assignment requesting him to use the Internet. It's good, because we want our children to learn a new technology to be able to participate in our economy, getting a job. His family could not afford broadband in the home. He went to his local library in the evening after it closed, in the parking lot, using wi-fi, so that he can do homework, and it is not unreasonable, and that's what we are trying to overcome. "
