San José city officials are pushing for equitable access to technology through a $24 million fund that could bring internet access to low-income areas and ease a "digital divide" in the Silicon Valley over the next 10 years. The Digital Inclusion Fund was approved in [...]
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The city will partner with the nonprofit California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) to manage the $24 million initiative, which will be funded by the small cell usage fees telecommunications companies pay. "Digital inclusion is a 21st century civil right," said Sunne Wright McPeak, the president [...]
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While $2.2 million per year is insufficient, it will be seed money that Sunne McPeak believes will prime the pump to get foundations, grants, and corporate donations flowing into the Digital Inclusion Fund to help prepare young people for careers in computer science and related [...]
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Over all, Microsoft concluded that 162.8 million people do not use the internet at broadband speeds, while the F.C.C. says broadband is not available to 24.7 million Americans. The discrepancy is particularly stark in rural areas. In Ferry County, for example, Microsoft estimates that only [...]
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"I always used to remind transportation officials that the best trip is a virtual trip," said Sunne Wright McPeak, president and CEO of the nonprofit California Emerging Technology Fund. In an interview with Techwire, she said: "From our perspective in transportation and trying to manage [...]
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As the character, color and culture of California have changed in the intervening decades - with the growth of an enormously diverse population and a booming tech economy - so too has the San Joaquin Valley. Now 4 million residents strong, the region hosts a [...]
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The San Bernardino City Unifed School District (SBCUSD) program offers students the use of Google Chromebook laptops and Internet hotspot devices free of charge for as long as they are SBCUSD students. It arose out of the district's aim to close the digital divide and [...]
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