Digital Divide

For BEAD success, broadband providers should engage with states now

The clock is ticking for state broadband offices to submit their initial proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) describing how each state will carry out its competitive Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant process. The vast majority of states are still drafting their proposals and seeking stakeholder input, but that input works both ways.

Connecting the Pieces in Digital Equity

One out of four urban households do not have a wireline subscription or the infrastructure to support one, making the challenge of closing the digital divide no small matter. Achieving digital equity is going to take time, and efforts will be ongoing as technology evolves and household circumstances change. “Digital skills are one issue that will never go away,” said Angela Siefer, Executive Director, National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA).

Connected Nations: Summer Update 2023

Key findings on mobile coverage and fixed broadband availability across the UK as of April and May 2023: 

GUMBO grant helps unserved area get broadband for the first time

Some Louisiana communities have never had high-speed, affordable internet access, but thanks to REV Business and the GUMBO grant program, these areas are finally getting connected. REV was established in 2020 as a combination of former telecommunications companies RTC, EATEL, and Vision Communications. With 2,790 miles of fiber and more than 60,000 customers, REV serves multiple parishes in south Louisiana including parts of Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. James, St. John the Baptist, Ascension, Livingston, and East Baton Rouge.

EDA Grant Lays Foundation for Significant Broadband Investments in Missouri

In September 2021, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded the Missouri Association of Councils of Government (MACOG) a 

Race, Ethnicity, and Digital Equity

According to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey, Black and Hispanic adults in the United States remain less likely than White adults to say they own a traditional computer or have high-speed internet at home. Eighty percent of White adults report owning a desktop or laptop computer, compared with 69 percent of Black adults and 67 percent of Hispanic adults. Eighty percent of White adults also report having a broadband connection at home, while smaller shares of Black and Hispanic adults say the same—71 percent and 65 percent, respectively.

UNESCO: Dependence on Tech Caused ‘Staggering’ Education Inequality

In early 2020, as the coronavirus spread, schools around the world abruptly halted in-person education. To many governments and parents, moving classes online seemed the obvious stopgap solution. In the United States, school districts scrambled to secure digital devices for students. Almost overnight, videoconferencing software like Zoom became the main platform teachers used to deliver real-time instruction to students at home.

FCC Announces 2nd Round of ACP Tribal Outreach Grant Program Awards

The Federal Communications Commission made final funding allocations for the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program (ACP Outreach Grant Program), and Tribal Competitive Outreach Program (TCOP) Round 2.

Internet for All in Washington: Digital Equity Plan

The Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) developed a vision for digital equity in Washington state: Everyone in Washington has affordable broadband internet technology as well as the tools and skills needed to participate in our digital society before 2028. The WSBO has established three goals designed to achieve the stated vision:

Kentucky Governor Beshear: Record $386 Million Investment Will Bring High-Speed Internet Service to More Than 42,600 Homes and Businesses

Kentucky is investing a record $386 million to expand access in 46 counties, bringing high-speed internet access to more than 42,600 homes and businesses for the first time. The funding will allow providers to run fiber to each location.

PAWR Program Unveils ARA Testbed for Rural Wireless and Applications Research

The Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) Project Office unveils the ARA, a new testbed in Central Iowa dedicated to research on rural wireless systems and applications. The ARA combines both commercial and programmable network systems. The multi-modal platform is based on the Iowa State University (ISU) campus with coverage extending to local crop and livestock farms and parts of the City of Ames (IA).

Education secretary calls digital divide ‘equity issue of our moment’ during Kansas City visit

US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona made stops in Kansas and Missouri as part of a multi-state tour, labeling internet access “the new pencil” as he discussed the government’s efforts to expand broadband connectivity. While speaking to superintendents and education leaders in Kansas, he declared lack of access the “equity issue of our moment.” Secretary Cardona was joined by Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to discuss the “digital divide,” with school superintendents and education leaders from corporate and nonprofit companies.

President Biden is providing the funding to bridge the digital divide but one rule could squander this opportunity

Twenty-five years ago, when I headed up the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), my colleagues and I identified what has come to be known as the digital divide while researching the growing gap between the haves and have-nots of internet access. Back then, we never dreamed that the US government would one day commit $42 billion dollars in the form of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to close the divide. Yet, the Biden administration and Congress have provided the focus and the funds we need to get every American online.

Sustaining Universal Service Programs

The Congressional directive in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure that there be specific, predictable, and sufficient Federal and State mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service. The dilemma is that the source of Universal Service Fund (USF) programs is end user (i.e. retail) revenues from international and interstate wireline and mobile services, as well as revenue from providers of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.

A random sample of the Digital Divide

A tour of the remaining United States Digital Divide from a home in Quincy (CA) to an unserved farm in Newton (NC) to a home in Troy (AL).  These locations (and more) are from a random sample of BEAD-eligible unserved and underserved locations that are not part of the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) or Alternative Connect America Model (A-CAM) programs. 

North Carolina Governor Cooper Announces First Round of Completing Access to Broadband Awards to Expand Internet Access in 14 Counties

North Carolina’s first Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program. It will connect 6,012 households and 164 businesses in 14 counties to high-speed internet.

California's broadband plan could leave out one of its least connected communities: East Oakland

California is expected to significantly scale down a multibillion-dollar plan to expand high-speed broadband networks soon. And the data the state is using to make the amendments is inaccurate, experts and advocates say, meaning lower-income areas with some of the lowest rates of internet access, like East Oakland, could lose out the most. In pockets of Alameda County, which includes East Oakland, up to 38% of residents don’t have internet access, nearly triple the 13% statewide average.

The $53,000 Connection: The High Cost of High-Speed Internet for Everyone

The cost of connecting Nebraska’s Winnebago Tribe reservation with fiber-optic cable could average $53,000 for each household and workplace connected. That amount exceeds the assessed value of some of the homes getting hookups, property records show.

How far could the money go? Update with new Enhanced ACAM numbers

We could theoretically reach 94% of the Unserved and Underserved locations nationally. We only miss 750,000 locations. The biggest misses by percentage are Iowa (61% of Unserved and Underserved), Idaho (66%), Illinois, Kansas, and California (all 71%), Minnesota (76%), and Colorado and Nebraska (about 80%). I find it helpful to think about this as a simple math problem: how far the money might go can be estimated by multiplying the number of locations that need service times the average cost to serve them. There are 11.9 million Unserved and Underserved locations nationally.

Language Barriers and Digital Equity

In 2019, more than 44.9 million immigrants lived in the United States. One-third (14.8 million) were low income, meaning that their family’s income was below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. These immigrants face challenges including language barriers and lack of access to information. In 2019, approximately 46 percent of immigrants ages five and older (approximately 20 million people) were Limited English Proficient (LEP). Immigrants accounted for 81 percent of the country’s 25.5 million LEP individuals.

New Hampshire Launches Statewide Efforts to Inform Five-Year Digital Equity Plan

The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension (UNHCE) was awarded $511,216 by the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) to lead the development of a five-year plan to connect residents state-wide with access to high-speed internet, digital devices, training, and a host of services and resources made possible through digital technology (e.g., telehealth, on-line educational resources, mobile banking, assistive

Connecting Indiana: Five Year Action Plan

Indiana is diligently working to expand broadband access across the entire state, recognizing its vital role in economic development, education, healthcare, and overall quality of life. The following plan outlines the vision, goals, and objectives supported by an impressive $868,109,929.79 investment in broadband, the largest in Indiana's history. Indiana actively seeks and leverages federal funding opportunities to support broadband expansion, including the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Rural Carriers Face a Big Decision as FCC Releases New E-ACAM Broadband Funding Offers

Small rural carriers have a big decision to make by September 29, 2023, now that the Federal Communication Commission has released new broadband funding offers. The new offers are contingent on a higher broadband speed, as mandated in the enhanced Alternative Connect America Model (E-ACAM) order. Carriers must advise the FCC by the September 2023 deadline, on a state-by-state basis, whether they want to participate in the E-ACAM program and accept the new offers. The initial program, established several years ago, covers some of the costs of deploying broadband to unserved areas based on a

Charter, Brightspeed Announce North Carolina Broadband Funding Awards

Charter and Brightspeed have formally announced broadband funding wins in the latest round of funding through the North Carolina Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) program.