Research in Action

Benton builds knowledge by providing a body of research and best practices to guide our field’s work.

Marjorie & Charles Benton Opportunity Fund

We launched the fund in honor of the lifelong commitments and contributions of Marjorie and the late Charles to support a stronger, more equitable, and more just America.

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society welcomes fellowship applications to support a new generation of broadband scholars, practitioners, and advocates.

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Inaugural Fellowships

Fellows from our inaugural cohort conducted research and developed best practice guidance for our field. They profiled community champions who successfully addressed broadband needs and highlighted the broadband adoption journeys of low-income women of color. We also supported projects that focused on online safety, privacy, and well-being within the context of digital equity efforts; studied the relationship between subsidized broadband programs (that assist low-income families in affording broadband connections) and health; evaluated the work of digital navigators within healthcare settings; and created tech support resources for a network reaching affordable housing developments in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan.

Learn more here.

Equitable Broadband in Urban America Research Group

The Equitable Broadband in Urban America Research Group is a multi-city, multi-methods project that offers actionable insights into how broadband in urban America can be improved. Researchers, working independently—and in concert—explore how state and federal policymakers, local governments, and digital equity champions can continue to build digital equity in these communities. Research teams in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Seattle delve into the specific dynamics and challenges to reaching universal broadband and digital equity in their cities.

The projects seek to answer the following overarching research questions:

What puts high-quality internet access out of reach for urban America? Who is excluded?
How has the history of racial discrimination and digital redlining influenced the current digital landscape?
How are community institutions and coalitions—be they community networks, digital navigators, or public-private partnerships—working to build digital equity?

Learn more here.

Policies, Plans, and Promises Research Group

The Policies, Plans, and Promises Research Group analyzes the deployment and digital equity plans that states are developing under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to examine how states are approaching connectivity to Tribal Nations and online safety and privacy. Benton staff reviewed state plans to assess how states are addressing the needs of older adults and veterans. These comparative analyses surface best practices and provide examples for how state governments can do better.

Learn more here.

Barriers to Broadband

Four new research projects investigate the complex challenges that stand in the way of universal, affordable, and equitable broadband access. These fellows are asking essential questions about how climate risk, accountability mechanisms, and our institutions and policies can impact people’s ability to access and use the internet.

Learn more here.

Human Infrastructure of Broadband

The human infrastructure of broadband refers to the people and organizations who provide direct support to individuals to access affordable internet and devices and teach people the digital skills necessary to make use of connectivity and fully participate in modern society.

Working with partners and experts in the field, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society examines how the human infrastructure helps people, particularly historically marginalized communities, make meaningful use of the internet. The project aims to bolster this human infrastructure and develop policy and program recommendations that can sustain this work over the long term. Funding this human infrastructure is critcal to ensuring a return on investment in the physical infrastructure funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

Learn more on our Human Infrastructure of Broadband page.

Understanding Broadband Affordability

The Benton Institute has a long history of conducting research that outlines why subscription prices for high-speed broadband must be affordable for people to get and stay connected to internet service. Connectivity can advance individual opportunity and ubiquitous connectivity can help communities meet their goals in economic development, telehealth delivery, distance learning, civic engagement, and much more.

Many researchers have contributed to this work over the years. Since 2021, the Institute is privileged to work with John B. Horrigan, PhD, a Benton Senior Fellow and national expert on technology adoption, digital inclusion, and evaluating the outcomes and impacts of programs designed to promote broadband adoption and use. Dr. Horrigan has written extensively about the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), how it got more people online in places where connectivity was needed most, and how the expiration of this benefit program impacted low-income household budgets and behavior.

Learn more on our Understanding Broadband Affordability page.

Prioritizing Digital Equity

Measuring Measurable Objectives: How States Will Track Digital Equity Progress (Nov 2024). In planning to achieve digital equity, states are responsible for developing and measuring the key performance indicators (KPIs) that can demonstrate tangible progress toward five “measurable objectives:” As states begin implementing their digital equity plans, understanding these metrics and methodologies will allow stakeholders to track the nation’s progress toward universal broadband adoption.

Visions of Digital Equity (Aug 2023) is a participatory research project that proposes Ten Principles for Digital Equity Visions to help guide both the process and resulting visions of digital equity that states are required to craft as part of their Digital Equity Act plans.

The Digital Equity Action Research (DEAR) Fellowship: A Participatory Action Research Project (July 2022) helped young adults, ages 19-24, learn participatory action research skills to examine and address the root causes of digital inequities in their communities.