Nearly two years ago, I wrote that governments need to find a way to increase the penetration of households with computers.
Maybe Canada needs to look at targeting broadband subsidies based on income, regardless of where people live. There is a gap in the level of connectedness among lower income Canadians in urban markets as well. Maybe it is time to consider making PCs and broadband part of our social welfare system.
A tweet from Catherine Middleton pointed me to an article talking about a plan in the UK to provide laptop computers and broadband internet to 270,000 low-income households in the UK. Yesterday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said:
We want every family to become a broadband family, and we want every home linked to a school. For those finding it difficult to afford this, today I can announce the nationwide rollout of our home access programme to get laptops and broadband at home for 270,000 families.
Dr. Middleton will be part of the program at The 2010 Canadian Telecom Summit, participating on a panel looking at International Perspectives on ICT Strategies.
What can Canada learn from other countries as we begin to examine the development of a national digital strategy?