roundtable: NTIA Press Release

roundtable: NTIA Press Release

NTIA Press Release

DDAVIS@ntia.doc.gov
Thu, 27 Jul 1995 09:40:20 +0500 

Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 09:40:20 +0500
Message-Id: <s016b18d.048@ntia.doc.gov>
From: DDAVIS@ntia.doc.gov
To: cni-announce@cni.org
Subject: NTIA Press Release


For Immediate Release:                     CONTACT:   Paige Darden
July 25, 1995                                        (202) 482-1551    

          IRVING TO RELEASE COMPREHENSIVE REPORT ON THE 
          INFORMATION "HAVE NOTS" AT TODAY'S NARUC MEETING 

WASHINGTON, DC -- Americans, particularly minorities, living in
rural areas and in our nation's inner cities are the least likely
to have access to the information superhighway, according to a
report released today by the Department of Commerce's National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).  The
report coincides with an increased focus in Washington, and at the
state and local level, on how to prevent us from becoming a nation
divided among information "haves" and "have nots."

      Larry Irving, assistant secretary of Commerce for
communications and information and administrator of NTIA, released
the data at the summer meeting of the National Association of
Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) in San Francisco,
California today.  The report, Falling Through the Net, contains
the most recent and comprehensive Census data available on
telephone penetration and computer and modem ownership and use.  

      Among its most significant findings are:

      *     Inner-city households in the Northeast United States have
            the lowest penetration of telephone subscribers in the
            nation

      *     Rural poor are the least likely to own computers or
            modems

      *     African American households in inner cities rank at the
            bottom of computer ownership among racial groups

      Also significant was the discovery that persons with lower
income and less education are more likely to use computers with
modems to look for jobs and take classes than wealthy, educated
persons who own computers with modems.

      "We hope that the report will help clarify who the information
'have nots' are and where they live," said Irving. "We also want
people to know that the technology is empowering -- people really
do use it to improve their lives," said Irving.   

      "Falling Through the Net underscores the importance of the
Clinton Administration's goal to assure that all Americans have
access to the National Information Infrastructure (NII)," said
Irving.  "To achieve this goal in the short term, we recommend that
the public and private sector join efforts to make sure that this
technology is available in community access centers in underserved
areas."

      In March 1995, Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown and
Acting Secretary of Agriculture Richard Rominger announced a public
education campaign to urge Americans to "Get Connected to the
Information Age."  For more information, call 1-800-NII-8818.  

      NTIA's Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure
Assistance Program (TIIAP) awards matching funds to schools,
libraries, health care organizations, and other non-profit and
state and local government entities to provide access to the
information superhighway in underserved communities.  In addition,
NTIA recently released a report, Connecting the Nation: 
Classrooms, Libraries and Health Care Organizations in the
Information Age, that discusses the status of connectivity to the
National Information Infrastructure (NII). 
 
      The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and
Information Administration serves as the principal advisor to the
President, Vice President and Secretary of Commerce on domestic and
international communications and information issues and represents
the Executive Branch before the Congress, other Federal agencies,
foreign governments and international organizations.
      
      Information on NTIA's grant program and NTIA reports are
available via the Internet at gopher.ntia.doc.gov and
www.ntia.doc.gov.  To arrange courier pick-up or to have copy
mailed to you, call Tia Hastie, NTIA Office of Public Affairs, at
202-482-1551. 

                                      ###

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