President Barack Obama journeyed to a high-tech middle school Thursday to announce plans to expand broadband and wireless Internet access to each of the nation's schools and libraries.
Lamenting that the United States has fallen far behind rivals such as South Korea in connectivity, Obama said a new initiative called ConnectED will connect 99 percent of the nation's students with high-speed Internet within five years.
Obama called on the Federal Communications Commission to use its existing E-Rate program, which is funded through a surcharge on telephone bills, to help advance the broadband goal. He also instructed other parts of the federal government to redirect resources toward classroom technology and teacher training.