The Obama Administration announced that broadband Internet is now a "core utility" in the United States, and that dozens of federal agencies are taking steps to get more Americans online. The administration's Broadband Opportunity Council released a report outlining current challenges and making recommendations to boost the number of citizens online, which includes one-fourth of U.S. households without Internet access.
The report states that broadband has shifted from being an optional convenience to a core utility. Like other utilities such as water and electricity, it is becoming a critical service for households and businesses.
A recent Pew Research study shows that 84 percent of U.S. adults use the Web. However, one-fourth of U.S. households do not have an Internet connection, and many poor and rural citizens lack high-speed broadband.
The Obama Administration has taken sides on various Web issues. It supported the net neutrality rules that the U.S. approved in February, and local broadband projects for ultra-fast Internet.
Monday's report centered on federal regulations that are slowing down broadband deployment. It also focused on methods to get more Americans online.
One option is for the federal government to offer grants and loans to U.S. broadband projects. An example is grants from Health and Human Services to fund electronic health records, according to The Hill.
Another option would be the government's promotion of "dig once" policies. This would help local and state governments and telecom companies reduce costs by laying fiber optic cables with other infrastructure projects such as water and transportation.
A recent United Nations (UN) Broadband Commission report revealed that about 57 percent of the world's human population would not have regular online access at the end of this year, according to Engadget. That is around 4.2 billion people.