Surplus budget omits low-income Internet proposal

When Portland put out its request for proposals to build a citywide wireless network, many hoped that it would soon help low-income citizens get connected to the Internet. The network is now expanding rapidly throughout Portland, but a $148,000 proposal to connect low-income families was not included in Mayor Tom Potter’s $37 million proposed surplus budget this week. It could be tough to raise private funds for the project…MetroFi Inc. won the right to build a wireless network in Portland last year at least partly because the company answered the “public benefit” requirement in Portland’s request for proposals with free, advertising-supported access to the Internet. But free access doesn’t help people who don’t own a computer. And it can cost as much as $150 to buy the equipment that brings the wireless Internet signal indoors.

Source: Portland Business Journal

Note: It’s one thing (an important one) to provide access to both the Internet and computers but as others have pointed out, the ability to find and judge the data/information (search skills, currency of info, authority of info, understanding what is and is not a sponsored link etc.), and other important concepts is another matter altogether. So, in essence, do we have two digital divides?

This entry was posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2007 and is filed under Access to Information, Information Industry, Search News, Technology and Internet, Web Search. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.