In their 2021 State of the State addresses, at least 40 Governors highlighted the importance of broadband infrastructure and the interconnections with remote learning and telemedicine. These are critical to closing equity gaps and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic crisis. Expanding the physical infrastructure of the internet is only part of the challenge of extending access and connectivity to broadband services across the country.

With the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, internet infrastructure was brought to the forefront as a pressing need. The demands of large-scale work from home, school from home, accelerated e-commerce, telehealth, and even family gatherings pushed more of our lives online and exponentially increased demands on internet infrastructure to unprecedented levels and strained capacity in unanticipated ways. This demand also helped shift the real estate industry itself from thinking just in terms of physical space to also considering how to engage within a virtual environment.

This report explores broadband and computer connectivity in Philadelphia, with a special focus on connectivity since the COVID-19 pandemic. Notable findings include:

Tribal lands in the United States have often been sidelined or simply excluded from decisions critical to funding infrastructure initiatives and improvements. As COVID-19 revealed the internet to be an essential utility for daily life, the internet served as a lifeline and an opportunity for people living on reservations and other Tribal lands to connect with education, telehealth resources, businesses and the “at large” community.

The pandemic accelerated the momentum for getting every American access to affordable, reliable broadband. It also elevated the role that states and localities should play in bridging the digital divide—the gap between those with access to high-speed internet and those without it—including by building partnerships with internet service providers (ISPs) to get communities online. But telecommunications law is complex and can occasionally present legal and regulatory challenges to broadband expansion projects.

One of the most urgent tasks for the international community is to overcome growing digital divides. Digital divides in least developed countries (LDCs) have been particularly salient, as digitally disconnected populations have been left further behind during the pandemic. The US and China, two superpowers in the digital era, should work in tandem with the international community to jointly combat digital divides and COVID-19. As the pandemic enters its third year, there has been a striking absence of governmental cooperation between the US and China on COVID-19.

During the summer of 2021, the Senate gave overwhelming approval to $65 billion for broadband access in the bipartisan infrastructure bill. The pandemic had clearly captured the attention of elected officials. The ultimate success of this initiative depends first on Congress’ final approval, then on the Federal Communications Commission and other government agencies being ready to move quickly in allocating funds.

As Democrats in Congress wrestle over President Joe Biden's multitrillion-dollar package targeting everything from roads to child care, hanging in the balance is a small but critical sliver of the infrastructure bill seen as a possible salve to our digital divide problem. This legislation provides long-overdue funding to upgrade traditional infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and electrical grids. But also included in the bill is a proposal for $65 billion in federal funding for broadband investment.

The Federal Communications Commission is committing more than $1.1 billion as part of its $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund program, aimed at boosting broadband access for students, school staff, and library patrons. The agency has already committed nearly $2.4 billion to date. The FCC has processed nearly 60% of the applications it received for emergency connectivity funding during an application window that closed in August, surpassing an internal goal to process 50% within two months.

In the midst of budget season, the Tompkins County (NY) Legislature convened for its regular Tuesday night meeting on October 5, addressing a wide swath of topics. The largest decision made was the county’s pivot in its efforts to expand broadband internet to the rural reaches of the region. In 2020, the county commissioned a study by Southern Tier Network and Fujitsu IT Services to determine the true number of households without broadband service in the county.