Last month, digital divide researchers convened at two major events: the Digital Access Research Forum and the Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy (better known as TPRC). The first event, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City—in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, New York, and Philadelphia—brought together researchers, practitioners, funders, and policymakers to share and discuss research about broadband and digital access.¹ The second event, a longstanding conference that addresses telecommunications policy, drew social and computer scientists, legal scholars, and telecommunications industry representatives, among others. The events showcased new research and fostered discussion about the how, what, and why behind getting all Americans online. 

Over the course of these two conferences, we were impressed by the array of presentations about broadband policy and lived dimensions of digital equity—from assessing the effectiveness of multibillion-dollar federal broadband programs to understanding affordability and skills. Together, the presentations and discussions reflected a research community responding to an evolving policy landscape, especially in light of recent changes to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program and the uncertain future of other federal initiatives like the Digital Equity Act programs. The conversations underscored a shared urgency: to ensure that research keeps pace with policy, that evidence translates into action, and that the nation’s broadband investments lead to meaningful, measurable improvements in people’s lives.

Critical Examination of Federal Investments

At TPRC, evaluating the effects of current and forthcoming federal investments in broadband access and use was of great interest, as were the implications of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s June 2025 changes to the BEAD Program.

A team from the Quello Center at Michigan State University shared research on their framework to assess the outputs and outcomes of federal broadband infrastructure investment through the BEAD Program. Dr. Elizabeth Mack presented a study that assessed states’ BEAD funding allocations with respect to characteristics that influence infrastructure need and cost, such as rurality and terrain ruggedness, as well as the extent of unserved and underserved areas. The study suggested that BEAD funding allocations to the states did not adequately account for cost differences. The research also included a simulation of the technology mix (fiber, fixed wireless, and satellite) that the states will require to achieve the goals of the BEAD Program. 

Novel methods to characterize actual broadband availability and affordability allow researchers to ask new questions about federal funding programs and compliance with program requirements. Research using the Broadband-Plan Querying Tool, software developed by Benton Opportunity Fund Fellow Dr. Arpit Gupta and his collaborators, identified the broadband service plans (including speed and price) available to consumers by querying internet service provider websites. With the Broadband-Plan Querying Tool, Dr. Gupta and team members were able to answer research questions about the options for broadband service, including pricing, that consumers encounter, as well as the implications for locations that have received or will receive federal broadband infrastructure investment across successive federal funding programs. 

Low Earth orbit (LEO) internet service was also a hot topic at TPRC, thanks to changes to the BEAD Program that are likely to result in federal investment in this type of internet technology. Several presenters measured Starlink’s performance worldwide to compare it to other access technologies.

Lived Experience of the Digital Divide

Research about the affordability of broadband service highlighted two ways to understand access and adoption. First, Ambika Nair of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York presented work promoting the notion of affordability as a relative measure rather than an absolute quantity (e.g., affordability means $20/month service). Her new study examines median income and broadband prices across cities to identify where service is more or less affordable for low- and moderate-income households. Second, Benton Senior Fellow Dr. John Horrigan shared research on subscription vulnerability, in which broadband service may strain household budgets and lead to disruptions in home access. His analysis of Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) participation and broadband adoption showed that the ACP benefited households that previously lacked a broadband subscription and those that were subscription vulnerable.

Benton research partner Dr. Bibi Reisdorf offered a new, related approach to characterizing digital divides through the concept of under-connectedness, the experience of inadequate, inconsistent access. Her study, co-authored with Vikki Katz, examined how families with school-age children experienced under-connection during the pandemic. Measures of under-connection—such as too many people sharing a device, a slow or broken device, or a temporary lack of cell or internet service—were statistically significant predictors of less than favorable educational experiences, such as a child having to attend school using a cellphone or being unable to do homework because of a lack of computer and/or internet access. Survey research about who has access to the internet and devices can benefit from including measures of under-connectedness to go beyond the binary of haves and have-nots. 

The question of how people transcended the skills divide came up in Benton Opportunity Fund Fellow Dr. Erezi Ogbo-Gebhardt’s study of the outcomes of digital skills training supported by an NTIA Connecting Minority Communities grant. Her research, co-authored with Siobhan Grady, showed that participants in a foundational digital skills training significantly increased their digital literacy, operationalized as self-assessed levels of confidence and familiarity with basic computer and internet functions. 

Broadband Supporting Lives and Livelihoods

Attendees at the Research Forum voiced interest in quantifying the impact of broadband access, adoption, and use. While practitioners in the audience had experience with the kinds of new opportunities that broadband opens up for people, they wanted to see research backing up their intuitive knowledge. At the Digital Access Research Forum, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance presented a new tool to aggregate outputs and outcomes of digital inclusion programs. 

Dr. Erezi Ogbo-Gebhardt shared findings from a study on telehealth. She found that while telehealth use has declined since peaking in 2020, groups that were more likely to be continued users of telehealth include women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people. Access to broadband and devices enabled their access to healthcare and health information from home or other locations. 

Drs. Roberto Gallardo and Brian Whitacre spoke about work to identify the economic benefits of broadband for communities, such as the creation of new businesses linked to the availability of connectivity. They reviewed how the research literature contains causal claims about the benefits of digital access, many of which associate outcomes related to health, education, and other areas with access. 

Dr. Gallardo also joined us—along with Dr. Kira Allman of the Commonwealth of Virginia and Ariane Schafer of Google Fiber—to explore the human infrastructure of broadband—the people and organizations that help individuals access affordable internet, devices, and the digital skills needed to make use of connectivity. We discussed how a “if you build it, they will come” mentality is insufficient to get to universal connectivity. Rather, this direct human support is necessary and will remain so to ensure we can maximize the return on investment from federal broadband programs like BEAD. 

Research in Action

Both conferences focused on ensuring that the nation’s major broadband investments, particularly BEAD, are effective while also looking ahead to how artificial intelligence (AI) will reshape the landscape. Discussions at both TPRC and the Digital Access Research Forum turned to AI’s growing influence on access, skills, and work. While the intersection with broadband and digital inclusion is only beginning to be explored, the expanding use of AI in devices, applications, and public policy decisions underscores why broadband researchers must keep an eye on this rapidly evolving frontier.

Across both conferences, attendees stressed that whether looking back to assess past investments or ahead to understand the impact of AI, the field will need deep, ongoing collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Policy must be guided by rigorous evidence rooted in people’s lived experiences. Evidence only becomes powerful when it’s translated into action. The opening plenary at the Digital Access Research Forum set this tone, which echoed throughout the week, particularly during Q&A sessions at both conferences. At TPRC, academic presentations that drifted from policy realities prompted the question, “Why does this matter?” while at the Research Forum, practitioners asked, “Do we have research on this?” Building shared understanding, grounding research in lived experience, and connecting findings to policy decisions will be essential to ensure that the next generation of broadband and digital inclusion efforts are both effective and equitable.

Notes

1. The Fed’s dual mandate – “to foster economic conditions that achieve both stable prices and maximum sustainable employment” – underpins the regional banks’ interest in access to and use of broadband. 

Dr. Revati Prasad is the Executive Director of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

Dr. Caroline Stratton is the Research Director for the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. 

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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Broadband Delivers Opportunities and Strengthens Communities