The goal of the workshops will be to promote an open dialogue between the FCC and key constituents on matters important to the National Broadband Plan. Key constituents will include service providers, equipment providers, applications providers, community groups, and other groups that have a stake in the future of broadband. Workshops will consist of meetings held at the FCC. The public will have the opportunity to suggest meeting topics and questions for the workshops. All meetings will be broadcast over the Internet when possible, and archived for viewing at a later time to ensure that everyone has access to the content.

The goal of this workshop is to elicit information and data on consumer groups that historically have been on the other side of the digital divide. Specifically, in this workshop we will identify demographic groups that have been less likely to use broadband technology, and quantify the ways in which broadband services can benefit consumers in these groups. Workshop participants will also catalog the main impediments that deter these consumers from using broadband services and will discuss real-world approaches that have successfully increased the adoption of broadband by consumers in these categories. Information and data obtained in this workshop will enhance the Commission’s understanding of the barriers facing consumers that have not yet fully embraced the technological advances available in today’s broadband world, and will be considered as the Commission develops the National Broadband Plan.