Lafayette, LA Provision of Affordable High-Speed Internet Services for All

Type: Resolution
Status: Introduced on 5/17/05 (It's unclear whether or not it was adopted.)
Source File: http://www.lafayettela.gov/pdf/council/agenda/051705/council/joint%20special/R-042-2005.pdf
Text:
RESOLUTION NO. R-042-2005
A RESOLUTION OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY-PARISH COUNCIL AND THE LAFAYETTE PUBLIC UTILITIES AUTHORITY COMMENDING THE VOLUNTEER DIGITAL DIVIDE COMMITTEE’S REPORT ENTITLED “BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: CROSSING OVER TO A TECHNOLOGICAL FUTURE TOGETHER,” WHICH ENCOURAGES THE PROVISION OF AFFORDABLE, HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SERVICE FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL OF THE CITIZENS IN THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE AND CALLING UPON THE LAFAYETTE UTILITIES SYSTEM TO PROMOTE ITS FIBER FOR THE FUTURE PROJECT IN ORDER TO SUPPORT ELEMENTS OF THIS REPORT
BE IT RESOLVED by the Lafayette City-Parish Council and the Lafayette Public
Utilities Authority, that:
WHEREAS, “Several studies have found that students with access both at home and at
school do better academically than their counterparts with only school access. For example, a
Michigan State University study found that after low-income children were given home Internet
access, their overall grade point averages and, in many cases, reading test scores, improved.
Those who spent more time online saw greater improvements, which researchers attribute to the
increased reading that Web use entails.” “Children, The Digital Divide, And Federal Policy,”
September 2004, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
WHEREAS, according to recent data (2004) from Nielsen/Netrating and the Pew
Internet and American Life Project:
* Over four-fifths of all households that lack Internet access at home have incomes below $50,000.” Expanding the Digital Divide & Falling Behind on Broadband, October 2004, by Mark Cooper, Consumer Federation of America.
* “Half of all households with incomes above $75,000 have high speed Internet at home. About half of all households with incomes below $30,000 do not have any Internet at home. The penetration of high-speed Internet in this group [those with incomes below $30,000] is around 10 percent.” Ibid.
WHEREAS, according to data collected by United States Department of Education in 2001:
* “While 75% of children from families earning over $75,000 a year have gone online, less than half (49%) of those from families earning $20-$35,000 and only 7% of those earning under $20,000 a year have gone online.” “Children, The Digital Divide, And Federal Policy,” September 2004, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
* “While half (51.7%) of all children with family incomes of $75,000 or above have Internet access at home, just 15% of those with incomes between $20-25,000 do.” Ibid.
WHEREAS, we now live in a digital age, a time when information technology is
pervasive in most of our lives; and
WHEREAS, those who lack meaningful access to technology experience a new form of
poverty and new barriers to success; and
WHEREAS, a healthy economy and community maximizes the potential of technology
to deliver information, products, and services to accelerate the entry of low income people into
the economic mainstream; and
WHEREAS, in today’s society, a computer and Internet access in the home are the keys
to connecting all residents to opportunity in the most efficient manner; and
WHEREAS, effective use of the resources of the Internet requires high-speed Internet
access, a computer, software, available training and technical support, and affordable costs; and
WHEREAS, barriers that prevent Lafayette’s people from advancing fully into the
information age include structural barriers to entry, motivational and historical barriers to entry,
and barriers to full participation; and
WHEREAS, minimizing or reducing these specific barriers is considered to be of
primary importance to the Lafayette City-Parish Council and the Lafayette Public Utilities
Authority; and
WHEREAS, the Lafayette City-Parish Council and the Lafayette Public Utilities
Authority deem it essential that assistance to low income residents should go beyond access to the
Internet, computers and software to include education about online resources that help residents
join the economic mainstream, such as distance learning, job training courses, employment
opportunities, resume programs and web-based business; access to Lafayette City-Parish services;
on-line financial transactions; and participating on-line in democratic processes; and
WHEREAS, the Lafayette Utilities System has invited a volunteer group to form the
Digital Divide Committee to study and make recommendations on strategies that address these
issues; and
WHEREAS, a resolution of the Lafayette City-Parish Council and the Lafayette Public
Utilities Authority is in order to call upon the Lafayette Utilities System to incorporate elements
of the report issued by the Digital Divide Committee entitled, “Bridging the Digital Divide:
Crossing Over to a Technological Future Together,” into its Fiber for the Future project, thereby
providing support and encouragement for the provision of affordable high-speed Internet service
for the benefit of all the citizens in the City of Lafayette; and accordingly
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Lafayette City-Parish Council and
the Lafayette Public Utilities Authority, that:
SECTION 1: All of the aforedescribed "Whereas" clauses are adopted as part of this
resolution.
SECTION 2: The development of programs that benefit low income residents’
utilization of technology, such as the affordable availability of computers, the provision of
educational programs and the adoption of principles such as the universal availability of service,
should be encouraged.
SECTION 3: The Lafayette Utilities System is commended on its partnership with the
Lafayette Parish School System to connect all of the schools of our parish with the fiber-optic
system.
SECTION 4: The Digital Divide Committee is commended for its examination of the
issue of the digital divide, including how to identify the underlying causes of the digital divide,
and further to formulate principles, recommendations, plans, and procedures on how to address
the digital divide in connection with the Fiber for the Future project, and that the Lafayette City-
Parish Council and the Lafayette Public Utilities Authority endorse the principles and
recommendations embodied in the committee’s study.
SECTION 5: The Lafayette City-Parish Council and the Lafayette Public Utilities
Authority call upon the Lafayette Utilities System to incorporate elements of the report issued by
the Digital Divide Committee entitled, “Bridging the Digital Divide: Crossing Over to a
Technological Future Together,” into its Fiber for the Future project, thereby providing support
and encouragement for the provision of affordable high-speed Internet service for the benefit of
all the citizens in the City of Lafayette.
SECTION 6: All resolutions or parts thereof in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
Category:City Governments
Category:Communications
Category:Louisiana
Category:Resolutions