education technology startup trail files open internet comment with the fcc
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Stephanie Margossian [email protected] 916.862.4762
July 7, 2014
Education Technology Startup TRAIL Files Open Internet Comment with the FCC
TRAIL Advocates on Behalf of 60 Million Americans
Who Do Yet Know How to Use the Internet
San Francisco, CA – TRAIL filed comment today with the Federal Communications Commission regarding the proposed Open Internet rules advanced by Chairman Tom Wheeler. TRAIL, as an education technology company that works with those who lack digital literacy skills, meaning they cannot use the Internet, fears that the new rules would further act as a barrier to Internet adoption for the population they work with. In the letter submitted to the FCC, TRAIL CEO Christina Gagnier noted,
“At a time when we need a national focus on ending the remaining digital divide so that the Internet can provide an economic boost to all Americans, taking any action that would jeopardize the closure of this gap is strongly discouraged. Any rules that may allow for ‘pay for play’ access to the Internet would be both discriminatory and anti-progress.”
TRAIL has worked throughout the United States, working with the California State Library, Pennsylvania State Library and other public institutions to get more non-Internet users online. TRAIL’s flagship platform, JobScout, gets people the Internet skills they need to find work. About TRAIL TRAIL is an online education company dedicated to bringing people their first experience with the Internet. We partner with libraries, schools, social services offices, workforce development centers and other trusted public institutions to offer our courses and features online for free. TRAIL’s platforms, JobScout and
HealthScout, allow thousands of learners to become Internet savvy. With users in over 12 countries, TRAIL is on its way to becoming the “first stop” on the Internet. TRAIL competed as part of the TechCrunch 2013 Startup Battlefield. The work of TRAIL has been recognized and awarded by CENIC. TRAIL’s CEO, Christina Gagnier, was named one of Broadband for America’s Faces of Innovation in 2013.
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