There are pragmatic steps within reach to ensure connectivity for all, trust for all, and opportunity for all:

• Without Congressional action, millions of at-risk Americans could lose their internet access in 2024 if the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is not extended. It's imperative that Congress extend this vital program. 
• We also need to connect the 6.5 million Americans living in low-income apartment buildings who are disconnected. Congress funded a key provision to extend hotel-style Wi-Fi into low-income apartment buildings so residents can access it for free. States now need to prioritize these projects in their broadband plans to get everyone online.
• Congress also needs to do more by passing a comprehensive national privacy framework to ensure that privacy protection is built into our technologies by design. To thwart bad actors, policymakers also should support and encourage the vigorous efforts already underway to provide robust protections for people's privacy, safety, and security on their devices — efforts that prevent billions in fraudulent transactions.
• While 92% of all jobs require digital skills, 50% of Black workers and 57% of Hispanic workers lack the basic digital skills necessary to succeed in the digital economy. We not only need to expand access to basic digital skills but also ensure everyone has the opportunity to learn the more advanced skills.

[Jim Kohlenberger is a technology and innovation policy strategist—and a member of the board of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. He has served in both the Clinton and Obama White House and in the US Senate.]

Comcast and the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) launched a Digital Navigator program that will utilize trained students to get more Baltimore-area residents and CCBC students connected to the internet at home, while also teaching digital literacy skills and how to use devices. The program is supported by a $150,000 grant from Comcast that will be used to hire and train nearly a dozen CCBC students. The CCBC Digital Navigators will focus on addressing barriers households face to getting online, namely affordability, access to devices, and digital skills.

The Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) partnered with the Indiana University Center for Survey Research (IU-CSR) to gather data on Indiana residents on several digital equity indicators. A surprising finding was that the difference between Whites and racial/ethnic minorities was not statistically significant but more importantly, they were “reversed” to what was expected. In other words, White non-Hispanics in Indiana lag racial/ethnic minorities when it comes to paying for home internet for all previous 12 months. There are two possible explanations for this unexpected finding: (1) survey results may be capturing the effectiveness of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), as the program has a higher share of African American households enrolled compared to White non-Hispanic households; (2) may be due to a higher share of Indiana rural residents—more likely to lack home internet access, be less educated, and/or have lower incomes—being White non-Hispanic.

The role of data in broadband planning has undergone a transformative change, and it’s important to understand the cost drivers, location density, and other key metrics affecting the broadband economic landscape. Cost determinants such as cost of labor, materials, build complexity, and location density are some of the top drivers in cost that allow organizations to model the economic landscape of unserved and underserved areas. To close the digital divide for all, not just in the attractive areas, states are strategically consolidating geographic areas to enhance commercial viability and optimize bidding efficiency. Additionally, a well-defined broadband map acts as a compass. It helps in understanding the geography, the challenges associated with different terrains, and the areas that are in dire need of connectivity, thus helping drive well-informed decisions.

Charter Communications CEO Chris Winfrey believes fixed wireless access (FWA) won't meet speed and bandwidth demands. In fact, Winfrey likens it to DSL – a product that had its moment but saw many customers flee to cable's higher-quality connections. The initial success of FWA "shows there's a nice, niche market for limited-bandwidth, limited-capacity, and limited-reliability product," Winfrey said. However, "As consumer bandwidth needs increase over time and as the network capacity of these mobile networks shrinks as a result of the utilization, I think [FWA] turns into really just another form of DSL, particularly when you take a look at the capabilities of our network and where we're going with high-split DOCSIS 4.0." Winfrey also said he doesn't buy the notion that FWA holds a clear price advantage in the market, believing that Charter has the upper hand when home broadband and mobile are bundled.

Despite the cable mobile virtual network operators' (MVNO's) success with bundled offerings and heavily discounted wireless service plans, don’t expect Verizon to follow suit. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg dismissed the cable MVNO's strategy of offering free or discounted wireless service plans when bundled with broadband. “Lowballing and discounting won’t help us,” he said, adding that the company recently ended its $25/month discounted pricing for its 5G Home fixed wireless access offering. Vestberg said that any MVNO partnership will be beneficial to Verizon’s revenue and added that he expects any of Verizon’s partners to realize that as the network improves “they will have to pay for it.”