Analysis

New research released by Digitunity explores the key role devices play in bridging the digital divide. Since 2013, the Census Bureau has asked three questions in the American Community Survey related to computer and internet use, focused on the type of computing device used (if any), if the household is connected to the internet, and via what type of internet connection. One in seven households either have no computer at all or rely only on a smartphone for internet access. While smartphones provide convenient internet access and can be more portable and affordable than computers, they lack

When the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program was signed into law promising to deliver “Internet for All,” we believed it wouldn’t be enough to connect each and every community. As broadband offices across the country rose to the challenge, we were ready to be proved wrong. But in June, the federal government changed the rules—giving states 90 days to cut costs and redo their plans.

Most state and territorial broadband offices have completed subgrantee selections for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program last-mile connectivity projects and submitted their final proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

The Seattle Community Network (SCN) is a volunteer-based, grassroots community nonprofit with a small operating budget (currently averaging $10-$50K in grants, donations, or in-kind contributions per year) that installs and provides internet access for homeless shelters. This post describes the software infrastructure we use to run our network and operations. The solutions detailed here will be most apt for other community networks that feature similar organizational styles and seek to minimize operating costs.

Antitrust policy relies too heavily on static models that focus on prices and market shares while treating innovation as external. A dynamic approach that views competition as a process of innovation is better suited to guiding policy in today’s technology-driven economy.

What comes after Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program? While BEAD will build good broadband networks in a lot of rural communities, it’s becoming clear that BEAD is not going to solve a lot of the rural broadband gap. I start with the premise that rural communities are not going to be happy when somebody officially tells them that the federal government is giving money to Starlink or Kuiper to solve their rural broadband gap.

The vast majority of states and territories have released their Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program final proposals for public comment. Many have closed their feedback periods, wrapped up their plans, and submitted those plans to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for approval. For the few remaining states that received extensions on the deadline to submit final plans, this process is still underway. Here are a few of the states that are in the process of completing their plans.

Older Adults Technology Services from AARP released new research, finding that 19 million older adults (32 percent) have no wireline high-speed home service. Rural seniors are less connected than their counterparts in metro or suburban areas. Older seniors—those aged 75 and above—are less likely to have broadband service than people between the ages of 65 and 74. OATS retained Benton Senior Fellow John B. Horrigan, Ph.D., to analyze American Community Survey data for trends. His findings revealed substantial gaps in access to digital tools when comparing older adults to other age groups.

National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and Public Knowledge (PK) submitted comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) about the questions for the 2025 Internet Use Survey:

Network outages used to be contained problems—a cell tower lost power, customers in that area lost service, and technicians restored connectivity within hours. The digital environment has since changed dramatically, with failures now spreading quickly across interconnected systems that society depends on. The root cause lies in digital transformation itself. Organizations have gained tremendous capabilities through cloud services, managed providers, and interconnected networks, but they’ve also created new vulnerabilities.