With digital technology embedding itself into the fabric of our daily lives, it’s paramount to understand the benefits and challenges it brings in its wake. This is what Time Warner's (News - Alert) Cable Research Program has tried to highlight in three reports it released.

Reports from thought leaders in the telecommunications policy world are part of a Time Warner Cable Research program on Digital communications launched in February 2010. They deal with the broadband access gap between African Americans and white Americans, adoption of broadband by Latino consumers and the dynamic effects of triple play bundling in telecommunications.

Authored by executives belonging to the National Urban League, the first report titled 'Connecting the Dots: Linking Broadband Adoption to Job Creation and Job Competitiveness', acknowledges that certain African-American communities have problems accessing broadband.

It analyzes the reasons for the big broadband access gap between African Americans and white Americans, which it says is narrowing, and offers suggestions and policies to improve the situation.

The second report by Dr. Matthew D. Matsaganis, Assistant Professor at the University at Albany, examines the factors influencing the adoption of broadband by the Latinos, the fastest growing ethnic population, and paints the communication user profile of the three Latino subgroups based on the kind of resources available.

The third report, titled “The Dynamic Effects of Triple Play Bundling in Telecommunications and authored by Dr. Jeffrey Prince, Associate Professor, Kelley School of Business at Indiana University (News - Alert), examines triple play bundling by cable providers and its application in technology markets.

Fernando Laguarda, director of the program and vice president for external affairs and policy counselor at Time Warner Cable, said the reports would clarify the challenges and opportunities in digital communications.

“Moving into our third year, we continue to believe that the Time Warner Cable Research Program’s multi-disciplinary and collaborative agenda can play a helpful role in the ongoing policy debate,” he added.

Related news reports Time Warner Cable announced it has begun the third year of its innovative program, The TWC Research Program on Digital Communications, to award stipends designed to foster research dedicated to increasing understanding of the benefits and challenges facing the future of digital technologies in the home, office, classroom and community.