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A Digital Difference: Greg's Speech at ISOC Philadelphia Event
Check out Greg's moving and informative speech from the inaugural event for the Internet Society's Philadelphia Chapter:
The municipal wireless movement is not about technology, it's about equal opportunity—its about leveling the playing field and bridging an enormous divide that exists right here in Philadelphia: the digital divide.
What is the Digital Divide?
The Digital Divide in Philadelphia
The Digital Divide limits educational, employment, and health opportunities.
In sum, in today’s world, lack of access means less connection, weaker communities, limited employment opportunities, poorer health, and fewer educational opportunities.
And not to be too gloomy, but there is another level at which it gets even worse, as an additional divide exists between those with broadband and those without it. This also has enormous consequences.
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps stated earlier this year:
“America’s record in expanding broadband communication is so poor that it should be considered an outrage. Too few of us have broadband connections, and those who do pay too much for service that is too slow. It is hurting our economy, and things are only going to get worse if we don’t do something about it.”
In fact, we are lagging far behind other industrialized nations. The average U.S. broadband service offers 1/30 the bandwidth at 20x the price as found in Japan. So that is where we are today. Fully two years ago at a UN Conference in Tunisia, then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan stated:
“The time has come to move beyond broad discussions of the digital divide. By now, we know what the problems are. We must now get down to the specifics of implementation, and set out ways to foster and expand digital opportunities.”
Here in Philadelphia, an unusually forward thinking technologist, former Philadelphia CIO Dianah Neff, responded to Annan’s challenge with a question of her own: "How do you knit together a rapidly diversifying city?"
Her answer: Use invisible thread.
That pressing question, and the evocative answer to it, captured the imagination of Mayor Street, dozens of community, civic and business leaders and citizens alike. And thus Wireless Philadelphia, the first and most ambitious initiative of its kind, was born.
So what is that invisible thread? More and cheaper broadband connections and programs that support Digital Inclusion, increasing internet connections to help break the barriers of social and economic isolation.
To paraphrase Wikipedia, Digital Inclusion, also known as e-inclusion, refers to infrastructure that can assist in bridging the digital divide that now exists, and encompasses activities related to the achievement of an inclusive information society. In this paradigm, new developments in technology become opportunities for “digital cohesion,” bringing the benefits of the Internet and related technology into all segments of the population, including people who are disadvantaged due to education, age, gender, disabilities, ethnicity, and economics.
Wireless Philadelphia is doing just that, and as such Philadelphia is, in the words of the Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board just two Sundays ago, “working out on the cutting edge” with our Wireless Initiative.
First, through our partnership with EarthLink, and against some powerful opposition, we are creating a ubiquitous wireless broadband network that will shortly cover the city’s entire 135 Square miles.
Secondly, we are developing creative programs and partnerships to deliver the goods and services necessary for non-connected, low-income households to gain access and begin to use it to improve their lives.
Wireless Philadelphia is providing the following:
Everyone wins in this approach
Wireless Philadelphia plays an important role in this initiative.
Wireless Philadelphia certainly has challenges to overcome:
I know better than most the challenges that exist to municipal wireless projects. But really these are a blip on the screen. Let’s look at the facts: the need for internet connection is only increasing.
For the five major decisions that people have most likely confronted in the past two years — buying a car, making a major financial decision, helping someone deal with a major health matter, choosing a college, or getting additional career training — 39% of internet users, or roughly 53 million people, said the internet played a crucial or important role in at least one of those decisions.
In politics, the last Campaign 2004 highlighted the enormous influence that this new mode of communication has on presidential campaigns. 75 million Americans used the Internet to get political news and information, discuss candidates and debate issues in emails, or participate directly in the political process by volunteering or giving contributions to candidates.
And a fun fact, about 1 in 6 American adults sell things online.
More than the technology itself, Digital Inclusion is that cutting edge the Inquirer was talking about.
While WP’s programs help individuals, families and communities who are not online get connected, our true vision is the “Entire City Connected.”
The entire, rapidly diversifying city.
With hundreds of thousands of new users, many of whom will be people of color, people with disabilities, those with low income, new citizens, seniors and more, who knows what new applications will arise and what new incarnations of existing applications will be created?
The possibilities for new forms of self-expression, community building and enterprise are truly limitless and thrilling.
As Digital Inclusion becomes our reality, we will begin to know the answer to the question that animates all of our efforts, and that I would like to leave with you: What will life be like for all of us when all of us are connected?
posted by Ryan Nichols @ 10.29.07 | 1 Comments
I'm working with the City of Minneapolis on DI issues related to our wireless build-out, and am wondering how/where your digital divide stats came from? We could sure use some good numbers, but no one I know of has a good set of metrics that overlays poverty data with Internet use, etc. Did you do your own research, and if so, can we get a copy of the report and how it was done?? this would really help jump start action on Digital Inclusion here if we could show rates of Inclusion/Exclusion.
Posted by Catherine Settanni | November 30, 2007
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