since then -- since his bureau, ntia conducts the most extensive survey work of broadband friends in the u.s., most recently in october 2010, not very long ago. it showed that 60% of americans subscribe to broadband. that is up to a 68% is up from 51% in 2007 and 64% in 2010. but that still leaves roughly one-third of americans who do not have access to the internet at home. also troubling, our survey reveals that there is still a substantial digital divide that breaks down a lot -- along traditional racial, ethnic, age, and geographical lines and by disability status. for example, 72% of white households had broadband access at home. compared with only 55% of african-american households and 57% of hispanic households. that is a 17 and 15-point difference. there is a similar divide between urban and rural america, where 70% of urban households have access at home, but only 57% of rural households are subscribing to broadband. seniors in people with disabilities also have far lower rates of adoption in the kent -- then the country as a whole. almost half of all households headed by so

ntia has invested $450 million for public computer centers and sustainable broadband adoption programs throughout the country. several of these also focus on older americans, and virtually all are providing public workstations equipped for people with disabilities. [applause] collectively, the result of this work in san francisco and in the city and -- cities and states across the country, will create templates for success that organizations around the rest of the country can replicate in order to help their communities move online. and getting communities online is the reason that we are so invested in this effort. it is critical to our future, because broadband drives economic growth, and broadband creates jobs. it provides the infrastructure that communities need to attract innovative businesses in a competitive, global landscape. broadband also allows businesses of all sizes to reach markets around the world. people who are aging or disabled have unfortunately historically been at the margins of new technologies when they are introduced. today, as broadband internet brings expanded

t'senh t ob n oe spec hand wan t ecdanouri t bunessut esn' undstan wri buss i workn'nd anthats es ntia w t te reblic irk atessaes.ia yoll he me a t t mor oicereic omsa buness yo e yo mll h aroritt cemney c te buss yo ht ey studdyes cnd pos a da ud aneso ecdos f am sll d an busiss. doilit fto s connceoter tha si . c itake thoneountbyerha gettg ev ybod back c eth ntrk. >>ttevodck wk.ll tk toen bolt who willive ugs w ttohe otrideltho ll ve gslatethisotrni.de precte i teis thanniyou. >>> ill ecead i"staing pot." an u. afr ll> l fd tag thagrap cpo" test ony afom ehtalled ctimin thaapc errysty eleandu y im t tria howdoes thery dense du unte we'ltalko iaoweshe d jose aez, tetheuy 'llk whgot casoanthyz, e whactitteasth

. -- over to ntia for developing this program. that congress establish will be set up in august and we are not sure yet exactly what will happen. we are continuing to move forward although ntia has cautioned us to slow down a little bit. we were trying to meet every single 1 of the federal deadlines because the original finding was -- funding was rf funding. we have to slow down. we did have a phone conversation with 1 of the undersecretaries in washington and i feel confident that will continue to move forward and we will be 1 of the first to build out our system. san francisco is 1 of 5 counties funded by the state of california to pilot the disaster program. this is a first in the nation effort to strengthen government- affiliated volunteer programs and integrate a volunteer resources. disaster core, we are hoping to get volunteers shortly. these volunteers will be able to do things for us that others cannot do because of the background checks and the classifications that they had as being a member of disaster core. on our emer

ntia has invested $450 million for public computer centers and sustainable broadband adoption programs throughout the country. several of these also focus on older americans, and virtually all are providing public workstations equipped for people with disabilities. [applause] collectively, the result of this work in san francisco and in the city and

ntia told us, and i think last time i came to you, our yeah, we have to spend the money by august. we have to have two-thirds of the project complete. we have been pushing, pushing, pushing, and then you get a different story from the federal government. it is very difficult to understand. i totally get that. i do believe that there are things that we could and should be doing right now to keep the project moving forward. but, again, that is a policy call of the board. supervisor chu: from what i am hearing, the federal government has not said that they do not want to invest in an interoperable. that is not the direction? >> quite the opposite. they have come out strongly and said they're going to build a national network. supervisor chu: ok, so that is still the same objective. the area where they have a halt is an actual type -- >> of purchasing the equipment because they want to make sure it is all interoperable across the country. san francisco is actually, at this point, one of the four series -- cities that the feds are looking at to be a pilot. there are a few others. i feel

program was established in 2009 by the american reinvestment and recovery act and is administered by ntia. we have nearly $4 billion invested in roughly 230 projects across the country, all aimed at expanding broadband access and adoption in the country. and i want to tell you a little bit about the programs and then tell you about why we care so much about this issue. so, we have the btop for infrastructure projects. these are building broadband networks in areas that are currently underserved. they are making sure that hospitals, schools, and other vital community institutions have the access that they need to make sure that they can compete in this economy. these projects are also going to spur private sector investment, and they're also going to increase availability for consumers at home. we also have btop computer centers. they're located in schools, libraries, fire stations, a community points all over the country, and they're providing broadband access to people who are hunting for jobs, to people who want to go online but do not have access at home, because maybe they do not have

t'senh t ob n oe spec hand wan t ecdanouri t bunessut esn' undstan wri buss i workn'nd anthats es ntia w t te reblic irk atessaes.ia yoll he me a t t mor oicereic omsa buness yo e yo mll h aroritt cemney c te buss yo ht ey studdyes cnd pos a da ud aneso ecdos f am sll d an busiss. doilit fto s connceoter tha si . c itake thoneountbyerha gettg ev ybod back c eth ntrk. >>ttevodck wk.ll tk toen bolt who willive ugs w ttohe otrideltho ll ve gslatethisotrni.de precte i teis thanniyou. >>> ill ecead i"staing pot." an u. afr ll> l fd tag thagrap cpo" test ony afom ehtalled ctimin thaapc errysty eleandu y im t tria howdoes thery dense du unte we'ltalko iaoweshe d jose aez, tetheuy 'llk whgot casoanthyz, e whactitteasth he'lweig inacte ne. 'l ig > al gn ralforthe g omne . wh neve madalo g his rre g rcept nwh vebefoad he iseate othebre. rptn come fon.e we'r harite o ourebr me 'rrihes.ur wetartur he wert "stting lt" tngl playst ts mningith disi e, ayeir try fst wd wa.. m [ ngo thh tune f "l labysi andood ght] ♪ afac ♪ r f wwa[ thne"lbyndd t♪f ♪ afl ♪ [ me anunce] fd oumoret... ♪[ dflk ] ♪lac! m[

over to ntia for developing this program. the new board that congress establish will be set up in august and we are not sure yet exactly what will happen. we are continuing to move forward although ntia has cautioned us to slow down a little bit. we were trying to meet every single 1 of the federal deadlines because the original finding was