Public Internet Channel project launched

A nonprofit organization focused on connecting poor people to the Internet launched on Thursday a campaign to create a wide-reaching central Web site designed to provide health, education and safety information.

One Economy Corp., with support from politicians, advocacy groups and private companies, plans to launch the Public Internet Channel (PIC) within two years, with pilot programs in cities including New Orleans; Baltimore, Maryland; and San Francisco starting earlier, said Rey Ramsey, One Economy’s chief executive officer.

The Web site will include centralized access to a variety of localized services, including information on emergency services, finding jobs, social services, educational opportunities and starting small businesses, Ramsey said at a press conference in Washington, D.C. One Economy’s goal is to raise US$20 million to fund the project, and the site will be available in English and Spanish, he said.

The project’s kick-off event included an all-star cast of politicians, with U.S. Senator Barack Obama, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jack Kemp and Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley praising the project.

“A lot of people today are using the Internet to think of new and innovative ways to get rich, and that’s a good thing,” said Obama, an Illinois Democrat. “This organization is developing the Internet as a tool to improve the lives of everyday Americans who are facing real challenges.”

The PIC is needed because many poor people don’t know all the places to turn to for help online, Ramsey and other speakers said. One Economy has worked on projects to expand broadband availability in poor and minority areas, but Web content aimed at helping poor people is a “silent twin” that’s needed in addition to access, he said.

“Wherever you live, whether it’s in the worst neighborhoods or the worst school districts, we ought to be able to bring you the best information about math and science, health and emergency preparedness,” Ramsey said.

For the U.S. to remain competitive in a world economy, it needs to educate all its residents, said Obama and Kemp, a former Republican congressman. “If this country is to truly maximize its potential, it has to provide connectivity to all people,” Kemp said.

Kemp called the Public Internet Channel a “huge idea.”

The project will give people an opportunity to interact and share local news in a media climate where major media outlets are controlled by a shrinking group of companies, added Jeannie Kenney, senior policy analyst for Consumers Union, a consumers group helping with the project.

In addition, the PIC will provide a starting point for people new to the Web, she said. “You have to make the Internet useable to the uninitiated,” Kenney added. “We think that’s very inspired and visionary and daunting.”

Ramsey is no stranger to big projects. Two years ago, One Economy launched a project to convince state governments to require broadband hook-ups in housing projects they help fund. Ramsey’s goal at the time was to convince 40 state governments to change their policies, and many people thought that was ambitious, he said. Two years later, 42 states have changed their policies on state-funding housing, he said.

Raising $20 million for the PIC is “shooting high, but that’s doable in this country,” he said.