Transmission Project

FCC & Knight Foundation Host Digital Inclusion Summit at Newseum on March 9

Media Advisory: FCC & Knight Foundation Host Digital Inclusion Summit at Newseum on March 9

Summit Includes Overview of Working Recommendations
for Broadband Adoption in FCC’s National Broadband Plan

The Federal Communications Commission and the John S. and James. L. Knight Foundation are hosting a March 9 summit to highlight solutions to the challenge of providing broadband for everyone. Called America’s Digital Inclusion Summit: Working Together to Expand Opportunity Through Universal Access, the event will be held at the Newseum and feature a wide range of broadband leaders, including FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Knight Foundation President and CEO Alberto Ibargüen, Lafayette, La. City-Parish President Joey Durel, FCC Commissioners Michael Copps, Mignon Clyburn and Meredith Attwell Baker, and members of Congress. The program will include a “voices of inclusion” segment providing an opportunity for people to share their stories about how broadband – or the lack of it – has affected their lives. The event is open to the press and public.

Nearly a third of American households lack broadband access at home, even when it is available in their community. The program will unveil some of the working recommendations in the FCC’s National Broadband Plan for increasing the nation’s rate of broadband adoption, a critical goal in an era when broadband is central to education, job search and training, economic development, and the information needs of communities. An Inclusion Showcase will demonstrate applications and programs that are already working to effectively bridge the digital divide and promote broadband adoption.

* WHAT: America’s Digital Inclusion Summit
* WHERE: The Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, D.C. (map)
* VIDEOCAST: FCC Commission Room, 445 12th St. SW, Washington, D.C. (map)
* WEBCAST: www.fcc.gov/live
* WHEN: Tuesday, March 9, 9:00 am to 12:15 pm. Continental breakfast available at 8:30 a.m.
* PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED at www.digisummit.org