San Francisco Mayor Announces New Digital Inclusion Plan

To complement San Francisco's latest efforts to bring affordable wireless Internet service to the city, Mayor Gavin Newsom released a report that outlines the city efforts to bring affordable hardware, Internet navigation training and the production of relevant Internet content to those in need. Programs and training will emphasize digital safety, accessibility to the disabled community and seniors, as well as promotion of multi-lingual Web portals and community-based content.

Newsom was joined by the 13-member Digital Inclusion Task Force that he convened last year that includes a list of diverse community-based technology stakeholders who along with the Department of Telecommunications and Information Services were tasked to produce the plan. Over a series of monthly public meetings, the Task Force advised the city on the technology needs of San Francisco's underserved communities and gathered data on existing community resources. Yesterday, the task force released its plan to provide hardware, technological training and support, relevant content and affordable Internet access to the city's least technologically connected communities.

According to the report, on a national level, 68 percent of Americans have access to the Internet. However, access in some segments of the population is much lower:

• 73 percent of households earning less than $15,000 a year are not online.
• 57 percent of African Americans are online
• 38 percent of Americans with disabilities are connected
• 37 percent of Hispanics have access
• 29 percent of people who have not graduated from high school are connected
• 26 percent of people who are over age 60 are online.

Applying these statistics to San Francisco's 740,000 residents and 330,000 households, suggests that at least 200,000 San Francisco residents are left behind in information technology access.

Newsom announced last week an innovative public-private partnership with EarthLink and Google that would provide free wireless services to San Francisco with no cost to the taxpayers. Over the next year, the Task Force will continue its work in the community and help the city implement the plan.