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

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

ntia has invested $450 million for public computer centers and

the ntia would need to be involved with that as well. that way we could move spectrum around without constraints or limits how it can be used within, within the bound of reason and technology. and second, for the fcc to quickly approve transfers that do not have demonstrably anticompetitive effects. in some cases these transfers are used to fund pet projects, right or wrong, in the form of voluntary conditions. the other source of spectrum is government. there has been a huge discussion of that lately. most of the reports i've seen on it are not promising in that regard. i think that congress will eventually have to be involved in that process. one recent report by some advisors to the president said we will not, or did not recommend ever, again, giving government spectrum to the private sector through auctions. that is a pretty bold statement i think. the other is the intentive auction which way. we'll see how that works out. that is very complicated process with many, many constraints and objectives but we do have some very smart peopl