The proportion of people aged 75 and over using the internet has nearly doubled in the last seven years in the UK. Figures compiled by the Office of National Statistics show that while there has been little change in internet use for adults aged 16 to 44, the number of older people going online has shot up from 29% in 2013 to 54% in 2020. The information is based on figures from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) between January and March 2020 so it will not include changes due to the pandemic. However, it is expected that coronavirus has further increased internet use among older people as a lot of services moved online amid social distancing. The ONS findings showed that more people than ever recently used the internet with an increase in use among all adults of 92% in 2020, up from 91% in 2019. Almost all adults aged 16 to 44 in the UK were recent internet users (99%), compared with 54% of adults aged 75 years and over. The proportion of people who had never used the internet stood at 6.3% of adults in 2020, down from 7.5% in 2019.

An infusion of federal money to expand broadband throughout the country could soon be headed to communities in need if Congress passes President Joe Biden’s $100 billion Internet plan. The question is what do states do until then? Several states have already crafted legislation to address the digital divide. For example, Kentucky's recently approved House Bill 320 will allocate $250 million toward expanding broadband throughout the state. Vermont's H.360 would direct $150 million toward creating an accountable, coordinated solution to providing universal access to broadband service throughout the state. In Indiana, House Bill 1449 is aimed at refining the process of awarding grants from the state’s rural broadband fund to projects that would provide Internet access to schools, rural health clinics, and other underserved areas throughout the state. Montana's House Bill 657 would set up a rural broadband revolving loan account with up to $200 million deposited into the account from money received through the American Rescue Plan Act to provide broadband access to rural areas throughout the state. 

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting applications for Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program grants to help provide educational and medical services in rural areas. The DLT program helps fund distance learning and telemedicine services in rural areas to increase access to education, training, and health care resources that are otherwise limited or unavailable. USDA plans to make $44.5 million available in fiscal year 2021. Of this amount, $10.2 million is intended for projects that provide substance use disorder treatment services in rural areas. Eligible applicants include most state and local governmental entities, federally recognized tribes, nonprofits, and for-profit businesses. Applications must be submitted electronically through grants.gov no later than June 4, 2021. 

Reps. Doris Matsui (D-CA-06) and Jim Langevin (D-RI-02) sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, urging him to issue guidance that will allow K-12 schools to make investments in increased cybersecurity measures. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSA) Act both included funding streams to support school operations during the pandemic. Specifically, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund and the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund allow for the purchase of “educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students.” While schools can reasonably interpret this text to indicate cybersecurity costs would be considered eligible expenses, written guidance from the Department to that effect will ensure schools have the information they need to make informed decisions about how to use these funds.