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Obama sets goal of expanding broadband to Americans by 2020

On Wednesday, the Obama administration announced a renewed interest in bridging the digital divide

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The Obama administration announced Wednesday its repeated interest in bringing broadband Internet access to more Americans. 

The initiative, entitled ConnectALL, is a government filing that backs the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) plans to expand Internet access to low-income households. 

The FCC is set to vote later this month, according to The Daily Dot, that would expand Lifeline phone service subsidy program to cover Internet access as well. The plan, which has the administration’s formal support, will create “21st century national broadband subsidy to help low income Americans get online,” according to a White House statement. 

In announcing ConnectALL, President Obama announced the goal of giving 20 million more Americans broadband access by the year 2020. 

"Because in today’s economy, the internet isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity," the president said in a post on his personal Facebook page, sharing a link to a New York Times story about the consequences of being digitally left behind.

The Lifeline expansion will create a $9.25 monthly subsidy for broadband Internet access, reported the Daily Dot. The idea behind the program is that, just as phones are essential for finding work and rising out of poverty, the same can be said about quality connection to the Internet.

In addition to filing comments supporting the FCC plan, the administration also announced several new programs aimed at bridging the digital divide, including a "Digital Literacy Pilot Project" involving libraries and museums and an overhaul of the Computers for Learning program that recycles old technology.

The Commerce Department will also create "a comprehensive online assessment tool to help community leaders identify critical broadband needs and connect them with expertise, tools, and resources for overcoming the challenges to expanded broadband deployment and adoption."

Households earning less than $25,000 per year are half as likely to have Internet access as families in higher income brackets, according to newly released White House data.

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