National Digital Inclusion Alliance
NDIA Comments to FCC on Emergency Broadband Benefit Program
On Jan 25, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance submitted comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s public notice on the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB). Along with thirty-six signatories, they wrote their comments focusing on:
AT&T’s Digital Redlining Leaving Communities Behind for Profit
AT&T has made fiber-to-the-home available to fewer than a third of the households in its footprint. Across rural counties in AT&T’s footprint, only 5 percent of households have access to fiber. For 28 percent of the households in its network footprint, AT&T’s internet service does not meet the FCC’s 25/3 Mbps benchmark to be considered broadband. AT&T prioritizes network upgrades to wealthier areas, leaving lower income communities with outdated technologies -- households with fiber available have median income 34 percent higher than those with DSL only.
Worst Connected Cities 2019
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) has released its Worst Connected Cities of 2019, a list of the cities in the US facing the biggest struggles with Internet connections by drawing from the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) One-Year Estimates. This data is not an indication of the availability of home broadband service, but rather of the extent to which households are actually connected to it.
Limiting Broadband Investment to "Rural Only” Discriminates Against Black Americans and other Communities of Color
The federal government’s existing broadband programs target hundreds of millions of dollars to expand broadband availability for residents of “unserved and underserved” rural areas, while studiously ignoring tens of millions of urban Americans who still lack high-speed internet service. This policy framework is counterproductive for reducing the nation’s overall digital divide. It is also structurally racist, discriminating against unconnected Black Americans and other communities of color. We present data below showing that:
NDIA Announces Digital Navigator Concept
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a sudden, massive public need for trustworthy digital inclusion services. Millions of Americans need support from digital inclusion programs: to get connected with affordable home internet, find affordable computing devices, and learn basic digital skills. “Digital Navigators” is an adaptation of traditional digital inclusion programming to this new reality, providing one-to-one dedicated support via phone service. The realization that digital inclusion programs needed to adapt organically emerged in several places over the last month.
NDIA Executive Director Angela Siefer On COVID-19 Stimulus: More Action Needed to Connect Millions of Households
On March 27 President Donald Trump signed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act to offset the economic impact of the pandemic and the public health response to it.
Measuring the Gap
As policymakers consider digital inclusion solutions, understanding the root of the problem is important. There are a number of ways people’s decisions not to subscribe to broadband could play out. Older adults – especially those on fixed incomes – may find the monthly fee burdensome but also struggle with the skills to use the internet. Low-income households, particularly those with children, likely understand the internet’s importance, but they may struggle with service affordability.
Submit your Nomination for the 2020 Digital Equity Champion Award!
The fifth Charles Benton Digital Equity Champion Award is officially open for nominations! Two awards will be given: One will recognize an outstanding individual who has truly made a difference in the field of digital equity; the other will acknowledge an up-and-coming digital inclusion practitioner. The award will be presented in April at Net Inclusion 2020 in Portland, Oregon, by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA).
NDIA to FCC: Broadband affordability should be addressed in annual assessment
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance has once again urged the Federal Communications Commission to consider broadband adoption rates and affordability in the agency’s annual assessment of “whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion”.