White House unveils new broadband initiative for low-income Americans

The White House on Wednesday announced a new broadband initiative that aims to connect 20 million more low-income Americans to the high-speed Internet by 2020.

"Connectivity is a path to greater opportunity," the White House said in a statement.

"Today, because of a digital divide, low-income Americans have a harder time accessing these tools, and unemployed workers without home Internet access take a longer time to find employment."

As part of the ConnectALL initiative, the White House said it supports the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s proposal to reform a 1.5 billion-U.S.-dollar per year phone subsidy program to turn it into a national broadband subsidy to help low-income Americans get online.

The program, called Lifeline, was first created under President Ronald Reagan to provide low-income Americans with financial assistance to purchase affordable phone service and then updated in 2005 by President George W. Bush to include mobile phones.

"Now in 2016, when we use the Internet to communicate more than ever, it is time to modernize Lifeline and make sure that all Americans can access the broadband services they need," the White House said.

The efforts also included a digital literacy pilot project, which will teach the basic skills needed to get people online in libraries, museums and community centers across the country.

Other measures included providing computers no longer needed by the federal government to organizations that help provide digital literacy and training for low-income Americans and marshaling support from the philanthropic, non-profit, and private sectors.

Currently, three-quarters of American families are using the Internet, a 50 percent rise from 2001.

A digital divide remains, however, with just under half of families in the bottom income quintile using the Internet at home, compared to 95 percent of households in the top quintile, according to the White House. Endit