Obama pledges high-speed Internet in schools
By Ovetta Wiggins and David Nakamura, Washington Post
Visiting an innovative Prince George’s County middle school where each child has a tablet computer, President Obama spoke Tuesday about his plan to give 20 million more students access to high-speed Internet connections at the nation’s schools and libraries.
Obama announced Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission will dedicate $2 billion and that several private companies — including Apple, Verizon, Sprint and Microsoft — have committed $750 million to help bring some of the technological opportunities provided at Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Md., to schools across the country. He said he hopes that 99 percent of U.S. students will have high-speed access to the Internet within five years, something his administration has called a “foundation for a transformation in the classroom” that will give teachers the best technology and training along with rich, digital content.
The initiative, known as ConnectEd and originally announced last summer, could have a widespread impact at thousands of schools. White House officials said the Internet speed in 70 percent of the nation’s schools is too slow.