President Obama has introduced ConnectALL, an initiative aimed at ensuring broadband parity for Americans of all income levels. Obama announced a goal of providing broadband access to 20 million more Americans by 2020.
The initiative involves reforming a $1.5 billion per year Reagan-era phone subsidy program, turning it into a 21st century national broadband subsidy, according to a White House fact sheet.
The White House also released a study on the economic importance of broadband and a call for nonprofits, businesses, technology experts and government to help increase broadband access by 2020.
“The expansion of affordable broadband will further solidify the rapidly growing telemedicine sector, which is transforming the healthcare paradigm,” said Jonathan Linkous, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association. “This initiative helps to deliver the promise of more cost-effective healthcare delivery models, and promotes the expansion of telehealth services for all.”
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.