Civic Engagement

City of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald created the Pittsburgh Digital Equity Coalition (PDEC), a working group of anchor organizations already working to promote digital equity and smaller community groups with intimate knowledge of the community need.

 US Ignite curates the best practices in designing and delivering smart city projects with leading-edge municipalities. These five practices on handling partnerships can help any smart city service, project, or application – at any phase – find success:

When I launched Broadcom in the early 1990s with the goal of revolutionizing digital connectivity, it was necessary to work closely with governments around the world, starting with cable set-top boxes.

Urban communities face unique challenges in effectively gaining broadband access, which primarily involve affordability and literacy. As government agencies plan for federal broadband distribution opportunities, there are steps to take to ensure digital inclusion efforts reach urban communities, those working in the space contend.

American government civic leaders continue to prioritize digital inclusion and digital equity. In Boston (MA), elected officials, and tech leaders are collaborating to expand the scope of digital equity by making sure all residents have high-speed Internet, devices, and digital skills training. Additionally, Boston has a new focus; specifically, the City has broadened the scope of the work to also include looking at how technology can ease barriers toward equity for different groups.

The Federal Communications Commission is partnering with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) to raise awareness of the Lifeline program and the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) during Lifeline Awareness Week, September 12-16, 2022. Lifeline is an FCC program designed to help make communications services more affordable for low-income consumers, and provides up to a $9.25 monthly discount on qualifying voice and broadband services for eligible low-income subscribers and up to $34.2

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will provide massive opportunities for local and state organizations across the country.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) and Digital Equity Programs requires a Five Year State Broadband Action Plan in order to tap $100 million of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding. In creating a competent and competitive plan to secure federal broadband funding, states should take into account a number of tips. First, states should designate or form a State Broadband Office to centralize broadband efforts, resources, and goals.

Digital equity is a key promise of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. If successful, the new law will lead to everyone and every community around the country having the connections and skills they need to fully participate in our increasingly digital economy and society. It seems like a tall order.

We’re finally starting to gain a picture of how the big telecommunication companies (telecos) are preparing to leverage the upcoming Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) grants. Chiefly, large telecos all say they will be building rural fiber with grant funding – which is what rural America most desires. But a lot of rural folks blame the big telcos for the current miserable state of rural broadband. There are several big fears that I hear voiced about the big telcos winning the grant funding.