WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 19
million people living in rural America do not have access to
broadband, a service as necessary as electricity in today's digital
economy. Today, at an event in Washington, D.C., Microsoft President
Brad Smith reiterated his call for a
national strategy to close the rural broadband gap and highlighted
that this is a problem the country can solve. Smith also announced
a significantly increased commitment by Microsoft to help tackle
the problem.
The Microsoft Airband Initiative launched in July 2017 with the goal of working with partners
to make broadband available to 2 million Americans in rural
communities who lack access today and to help catalyze an ecosystem
to connect millions more. After the success of the initiative's
first year, Smith announced that Microsoft is raising its goal for
the program and increasing the company's commitment. The program
will reach 3 million Americans in rural communities by July 4, 2022, and is adding additional states,
bringing the total to 25 states served by this time next
year. The new states include California, Indiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West
Virginia.
"Without a proper broadband connection, these communities can't
start or run a modern business, access telemedicine, take an online
class, digitally transform their farm, or research a school project
online," Smith said. "You see this dilemma play out in the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data, which shows the highest
unemployment rates are frequently located in the counties with the
lowest availability of broadband. As a nation, we can't afford to
turn our backs on these communities as we head into the future.
Given our early progress, today we are raising our goal and
increasing our commitment. Microsoft will pursue work to extend
broadband access to 3 million Americans in rural areas by
July 2022."
The event featured a precision-agriculture demo, a discussion
with representatives from two internet service providers who are
partnering with Microsoft — Packerland Broadband and Declaration
Networks Group — and a discussion with representatives from the
National 4-H Council and National FFA Organization, which also are
partners in the Microsoft Airband Initiative. The event has been
webcasted, and Smith's blog about the event can be found here.
The Microsoft Airband Initiative partners with internet service
providers that are using a mix of technologies to close the rural
broadband gap. This includes TV white spaces, which provides an
economical wireless solution for rural areas. Microsoft is also
working with hardware manufacturers to substantially decrease the
price of TV white spaces devices. These lower-cost devices are
critical to lowering costs for rural broadband and expanding
access.
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital
transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every
organization on the planet to achieve more.
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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.