There's a gap of about 93 million Americas who do have Internet Access (of any kind - not even dialup! I can't even wrap my head around that). The FCC is on a mission to bridge that gap.

Commissioner Clyburn's statement was informative, especially about the proposed "National Digital Literacy Corps in order to help individuals who are unfamiliar with or intimidated by the on-line world develop the skills they need to be comfortable on-line and to take full advantage of all it has to offer." Like a help desk. I wonder who will pay for that.

"If we are serious as a nation - both public and private sectors - about connecting America; about leading the world technologically and economically; about ensuring that all Americans have meaningful access to on-line education, healthcare, and information essential to citizenry, then we should be very concerned about these ominous signs. For if our push to increase broadband adoption - including through Lifeline subsidies - merely results in higher prices for the lowest-income consumers, programs like the National Digital Literacy Corps will be for naught.

"Thirty-six percent of non-adopters cite a cost-related reason as their main barrier to adoption, with 15 percent pointing to the monthly cost of service, and 9 percent saying they do not want a long-term service contract or find the installation fee too high. Across-the-board price increases, especially on those who can least afford it, should raise a red flag for the Commission. When prices rise across the industry, and where there are only a limited number of players in the game, we have to ask ourselves whether there is any meaningful competition in the marketplace. Moreover, when executives from major broadband providers indicate that they will only roll out faster speeds in the few markets where they have competition, our fears about whether meaningful competition exists should grow. If we fail to think deeply about these issues, consumers will suffer,and low-income Americans in particular will be left long behind."

So the FCC is finally grasping that we do NOT have meaningful competition for Broadband in the US. Maybe all that Unregulation from Powell and Martin is starting to bite our economy in the ass. Maybe when AT&T declared the PSTN a relic, it should have been a wake up call.

On another note, the FCC is also beginning to understand that one barrier to Internet adoption is that these households lack an internet appliance or computer. First step towards that is this NPRM:

"On February 19, 2010, the Commission released an order and notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that enabled schools that receive funding from the E-rate program (more formally, the schools and libraries universal service support program) to allow members of the general public to use the schools' Internet access during non-operating hours."

The Technology Channel Association, the only not-for-profit agent trade association, is holding the first ever Channel Chief Summit on April 13th. This is an exclusive event for the TCA vendor members to some together to discuss best practices in the Channel. Other topics will include the Certified Agent Program and the Code of Ethics that TCA committees have been working on.

If you are interested in attending, please contact me at 813-963-5884 or visit the TCA website at tcasite.org.

I attended the University of Tampa Fellows Forum this morning. Verizon was the presenting sponsor so I got to listen to Michelle Robinson, President, Southeast Region, Verizon, gush about how wonderful VZ is. Point of order, Michhelle. You said that VZ gave a whopping $2M to charity in Florida in 2009. "$31.6 billion in cash flow from operations in 2009." For the math challenged, they gave 2 out of 31,600 to charity. That's like Florida was a bum on the street and you gave them a couple of bucks. Thanks!

First up was Dr. Cecil Wilson, MD, president-elect of the AMA, who spoke of health reform. There are over 46 million Americans without health insurance. The emergency room is not the place for standard healthcare to be handled. It's getting more expensive every year. It's broken. My thought: If Congress was on the same health plan as the rest of America and not their own special health plan, this would be fixed faster than you can spell Medicaid. BTW, how much does it cost us for the pension, retirement benefits and healthcare for the Congress Critters. Anyone know?

Dr. Wilson said, "A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on. And this was before the internet."

Next speaker was Elizabeth Smith, CEO of OSI (Outback Steakhouse). She talked about how in this economy it is all about the Totality of the Customer Experience. Companies can only deliver value if they deliver an experience. As many of you know, customer service in this country is at an all time low. It should be easy for a company to stand out with a Total Customer Experience.

The last speaker was certainly the best. Jonathan Baum is CEO of the Dreyfuss Corporation and member of the Operating Committee of the Bank of New York Mellon Asset Management. BNY Mellon is the oldest bank in the US with $23 trillion in assets in service around the world. He gave some sound, cautious figures about the economy and investing. "Think realistically." "Stick to your plan." If you have 20 years, stick to the long term plan at 5-10% of interest. He also cautioned to turn off the TV. No good advice comes from it. Finally, he reminded us that Americans need to start saving again.