Harlem's Broadband Renaissance

Many discussions about improving broadband access fail urban America and low-income communities because policymakers assume the primary need is for marketing campaigns to convince individuals to get online. The real demons are poor network infrastructure, low speeds and affordability.

Silicon Harlem (http://siliconharlem.net) hopes to upend some of these barriers to digital inclusion through its mission to drive technology adoption, entrepreneurship, arts and culture, and social innovation. Executive Producer Bruce Lincoln (bruce.lincoln@urbancyberspace.com), the first Ford Fellow in Educational Technology, describes the organization's blueprint for success and how communities can replicate its progress.

Mr. Lincoln has spent many years as a design scientist and highspeed network developer. He calls on his experience and offers some advice for overcoming challenges such as: 

• disparities in eRate funding for urban schools; 
• inadequate infrastructure in inner city communities; 
• economic shortcomings; and 
• digital illiteracy.