We're covering the FCC's on-going series of public workshops as it works to draft a National Broadband Plan. An archive of that coverage can be found here. -- the editors

Small businesses “are the heart of the American economy.” They employ about half of all U.S. workers.

The Small Business Administration reports that small businesses “have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually over the last decade.”  Disadvantaged businesses (read: minority-owned) employ more than four million people.

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. The jobless recovery, coupled with the changing demographics, make it imperative that small and disadvantaged businesses have affordable access to broadband and a fair chance to compete for federal contracts and funding opportunities.

High-speed Internet access is about more than bridging the digital divide. It’s also about access to a critical infrastructure. In short, broadband access matters to economic growth, job creation and civic participation...