Members of Congress

Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), Chair, Congressional Black Caucus Community Reinvestment Task Force
“I applaud efforts to develop public-private partnerships to expand access to broadband services, especially for children in economically-impacted communities where such access is very limited. Children denied such access are disadvantaged in school and later in the global job market.”

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)
“The A+ program has developed a model intended to create digital empowerment in underserved segments of our population. Identifying the lack of computer ownership will be an important step in closing the digital divide and allowing our students to compete globally. Broadband Internet access is critical to improving the lives of American families by providing information about jobs, education, health and more.”

Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-IL)
“I am pleased to join with leaders of our nation’s cable industry and government officials in supporting Adoption Plus (“A+”), a proposed two-year pilot program and public-private partnership. A+ seeks to promote the adoption of broadband service by families of middle school-age children throughout the country. A+ would offer comprehensive digital media literacy education, discounted computer devices for accessing the Internet, and deeply discounted home broadband service to the nearly four million American children, in grades 6 through 9, who are eligible to receive a free or discounted meal through the National School Lunch Program. I applaud the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and its corporate partners for their commitment towards improving and increasing the use of broadband technologies by at-risk, low-income Americans. I look forward to working with them on this worthwhile endeavor.”

Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA)
"By addressing the lack of computer ownership, digital literacy skills, and broadband connections to the vast resources of the world wide web, Adoption Plus will help level the playing field for the children of working families who are currently being left behind in the digital revolution."

Federal Communications Commission

Chairman Julius Genachowski
“I commend NCTA and their industry partners for their leadership in launching Adoption Plus (“A+”), a program that will bring the benefits of broadband to millions of middle school-aged children in low-income households across the country. The Internet is increasingly essential to academic success. With 65 percent of teens going online to complete homework assignments, students that don’t have broadband access will fall behind those that do. Ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable broadband service is a national priority -- one that the Commission is actively working on as part of our National Broadband Plan. The cable industry’s considerable investment in this program represents an important step in addressing the many broadband adoption challenges we face. Recognizing that there is no silver bullet for promoting sustainable adoption, the A+ program offers students the combined support of digital literacy education, discounted computers, and discounted broadband access. This comprehensive approach promises to significantly expand the educational, social, and economic opportunities for our next generation.”

Interested Parties

Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute (ACLP) at New York Law School
Charles M. Davidson, Director
“The ACLP commends the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) on the release of its Adoption Plus (A+) proposal. Promoting broadband adoption and meaningful broadband use is essential to ensuring that all users, regardless of geography or demography, are able to participate fully in the emerging digital society. The ACLP, in a recent Report to the Federal Communications Commission (available here), identified some 60 barriers to further broadband adoption across a number of distinct user groups. Key barriers in the education context included demographic disparities in digital literacy, the affordability of home broadband connections for low-income parents and disparate levels of computer ownership across income groups. The A+ proposal represents one of the most thoughtful and promising approaches for overcoming these barriers and promoting broadband adoption and digital literacy among low-income students and parents. Targeting middle school students allows educators to instill critical 21st-century workforce skills at an early age and provides students with ample time to hone these skills in a variety of settings. Going forward, the ACLP looks forward to studying the impacts of the A+ program and working with policymakers, service providers, user groups and other stakeholders to highlight the many positive impacts of broadband.”

AT&T
Jim Cicconi, Senior Executive Vice President of External and Legislative Affairs
"Today's A+ Proposal by the cable industry is a welcome step. The Internet has the ability to change lives and can help children reach for the stars at a critical time in their development. By focusing on some critical barriers to Internet adoption, this proposal makes a positive contribution to the discussion about how best to ensure that all Americans have access to the Internet. We have already been in touch with the NCTA about the A+ Proposal, and look forward to working with them and the FCC as details are developed. Creative ideas like this can indeed make a difference, especially as the FCC focuses on formulating a National Broadband Plan."

Common Sense Media
James P. Steyer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
“It’s great news to see the cable industry take the initiative to propose new ways to partner with the government to help the most underserved kids get access to broadband. It’s even more important to see that industry leaders recognize that kids need digital literacy and media education programs so that they can use broadband in smart, safe ways that will bring real improvements not only to their education but also their economic futures.”

Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)
Keith R. Krueger, Chief Executive Officer
“CoSN applauds NCTA for its proposed A+ pilot program. Expanding broadband adoption to middle school students in low-income households is critical to helping all U.S. students succeed in the 21st century and beyond. We believe that this proposal represents a good first step by cable companies to improve broadband adoption but it only gets us part of the way there. We urge other telecommunications providers to follow cable's lead in discounting broadband access for low income middle school students. Additionally, we encourage industry and government to work together to ensure that those students gain access to home technology, at low or no cost, so that they may capitalize on the A+ initiative's promise.”

Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI)
Stephen Balkam, Chief Executive Officer
“FOSI supports the Adoption Plus proposal to extend broadband to unserved communities, particularly due to the focus on digital literacy. As we encourage greater broadband adoption across the country, it’s essential to include educational programs that encourage online responsibility and digital citizenship. This large and complex challenge will only be tackled through public/private partnerships such as the one proposed and we applaud NCTA for its efforts.”

Internet Innovation Alliance
“We commend the NCTA for launching this innovative new program that aims to directly provide broadband Internet access to unserved middle school students. This public-private partnership will provide up to 3.5 million middle school-aged children in low-income households with access to high-speed Internet and the opportunity to benefit from educational and life-enhancing tools. The A+ Program is a strong statement by the cable industry that broadband is a necessary technology for advancing America’s education system, and no child can afford to miss out. The A+ Program epitomizes the enormous possibilities of public-private partnerships that maximize creativity and social entrepreneurship. Participating cable ISPs will provide funding to help identify eligible children, reduce costs for broadband service and a cable modem by 50 percent, and offer free installation of broadband service. Participating school districts would defray the cost of identifying and verifying eligible students, conducting the qualified digital literacy programs, and other administrative tasks. Over 90% of Americans have access to broadband but only 63% opt to sign up for service. This innovative program will tackle the most commonly-identified barriers to broadband adoption, including lack of digital literacy; failure to understand the benefits of broadband; and affordability (both of devices and monthly service). By allowing more children to take this key first step through the A+ Program and get online, the NCTA and its partners are making a significant contribution toward the ultimate goal of universal broadband for our country.”

Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe)
Marsali Hancock, President
“iKeepSafe appreciates the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) leading the effort to provide critical digital literacy educational resources through the Adoption Plus (A+) initiative. This public-private partnership promoting broadband adoption includes comprehensive digital citizenship education, including security and media literacy training, through a scalable model to provide the skills and infrastructure necessary to create a generation of responsible, ethical, and resilient digital citizens. The results of the recent “Point Smart. Click Safe. Task Force Report” (PointSmartReport.com) pointed to an enormous need for consumer education, professional development, and student education. The A+ initiative clearly meets these defined needs allowing iKeepSafe to enthusiastically support NCTA and the A+ initiative.”

Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology Association
Jose A. Marquez, President & Chief Executive Officer
“With roughly 60 percent of Hispanic households currently without a broadband connection, the Adoption Plus initiative will be critical to ensuring equal access to the economic, educational, and social benefits of high-speed Internet access. Slashing the cost of service for eligible families and putting computers into the house of young Latino students will ensure that our community can share in the enormous benefits of broadband. As the federal government moves forward with efforts to make broadband universal, agencies should look to proposals like Adoption Plus for a roadmap of how to spread high-speed access across the country.”

National Association for Media Literacy Education
Sherri Hope Culver, President
“Recognizing the influence and educational value of media is vital when young people are spending so much of their leisure time learning through technology. The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) applauds NCTA for putting forth such a strong initiative in its Adoption Plus (A+) proposal. Taking the steps to assure broadband access for all is a critical action at this time. The combination of technology access, digital skills training and media literacy curriculum makes this initiative unique and poised to make a strong positive impact on education. The purpose of media literacy education is to help individuals of all ages develop the habits of inquiry and skills of expression they need to be critical thinkers, effective communicators and active citizens in today’s world. NAMLE's membership of classroom teachers, scholars, and digital media practitioners look forward to working with this public and private partnership to bring digital media literacy skills to a wider audience of young people.”

National Association of Black County Officials
Robert Steele, President
Simple fairness demands that every American has access to broadband, which holds such potential to helping workers find new jobs, families take control of their health care, and children access a world of knowledge. Adoption Plus' strategy of offering low-cost broadband connections and inexpensive computers will help greatly reduce the percentage of American households that forgo a broadband connection - more than one-third of all homes - and should be a model for the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan to ensure universal adoption.

National Black Caucus of State Legislators
Calvin Smyre, President
“If America is to ensure that all of our citizens have an equal access to economic opportunity then we must commit ourselves to getting every home, school, and business connected to the most essential service of our time – broadband Internet. That’s why we so strongly support the proposed Adoption Plus approach to universal broadband, which includes a number of principles endorsed by the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, including public–private partnerships, offering greatly reduced rates for service and affordable hardware, such as laptops or notebooks. With fully one-third of American homes going without a high-speed Internet connection, we cannot act fast enough to get more of our citizens hooked-up to broadband. It is essential to improving individual economic outcomes and to lifting our economy as a whole.”

National Congress of Black Women
Dr. E. Faye Williams, Chair
“With roughly half of African American households either unwilling or unable to subscribe to a broadband connection, women and their families are denied access to a portal to information, education, jobs, and other opportunities that this new digital arena affords. Adoption Plus gets to the heart of the challenges facing so many low-income families – affordability, computer ownership, and skill building – without adding financial burdens to local governments and school districts already facing drastic budget cuts. We support the proposal as a model for broadband stimulus programs and as a potential component of President Obama’s national Broadband Plan now being developed by the FCC.”

National Forum on Information Literacy
Lana W. Jackman, Ph.D., President
“The National Forum on Information Literacy’s mission is to promote information literacy philosophy and practices, which are major, integral components of digital literacy. The A+ Proposal is a significant step towards providing underserved students access to broadband but, more importantly, to a skill set that will help ensure their future employability and career success. The recently published draft of the 2012 NAEP Technological Literacy Framework underscores the timeliness of the NCTA’s A+ proposal. The more pilot projects like this can contribute to our understanding of the digital literacy challenges at the community level, the better we are able to design appropriate education strategies and assessment tools. The National Forum on Information Literacy supports this and similar initiatives that include access to technology, broadband connections and digital literacy skills training, particularly for underserved target populations like that defined in the NCTA’s A+ proposal.”

National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women
Sharon Weston Broome, National President
“The Women of NOBEL salutes the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) on the A+ plan.  Broadband Internet access is a very powerful tool that will help facilitate change in the lives of our children by changing the way they learn.  The A+ Plan will enable our middle aged children to stay connected and communicate at all times, even away from school by providing them with low-cost broadband connections and inexpensive computers.  We look forward to working with NCTA to help make this program a success across the country.”

One Economy
Rey Ramsey, Chief Executive Officer
“Today's announcement by NCTA is a bold and thoughtful approach to expanding broadband adoption to those who need it most. One Economy will join forces with industry, government and other institutions to ensure that this initiative is the success it deserves to be. By addressing the cost of broadband, we will now be able to focus resources appropriately on digital literacy, content, and affordable hardware – the essential elements of universal broadband adoption. Today's announcement is a big step for the industry and an even bigger step for the needs of the country and we applaud this effort.”

State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA)
Douglas A. Levin, Executive Director
“Ensuring affordable home access to broadband for all students, especially those from low-income and at-risk families, will give educators the capacity to offer students important educational opportunities not otherwise available to them and to better meet the full range of student needs. The cable industry's Adoption Plus (A+) proposal is an innovative approach to addressing the nation's social challenges via education, technology and public-private partnerships. On behalf of the educational technology leadership of state departments of education, we look forward to working with the industry, NTIA, the FCC, the US Department of Education and any and all others to comprehensively address the critical needs highlighted in the A+ program proposal.”

Related Publications