Digital Divide

Libraries: Building Community Resilience in Colorado

The Aspen Institute Dialogue on Public Libraries is pleased to announce the publication of Libraries: Building Community Resilience in Colorado. This report is the result of a collaboration with the Colorado State Library. The report unveils a set of opportunities and recommendations for building public-private and public-public library partnerships statewide that include participation in new youth initiatives, workforce readiness, and libraries serving as civic hubs. 

Broadband access an ongoing issue for Ohio counties

Since the connectivity summit held in Marietta (OH) last July, the plight of Appalachian broadband deserts has caught the attention of lawmakers in Washington D.C. “At this time the Citizen’s Connectivity Committee is particularly interested in four of the most recent bills,” noted Liz Shaw, organizer of the Appalachian Ohio-West Virginia Connectivity Summit and Town Hall held at Washington State Community College and Marietta High School in 2017.

Dividing the country won’t bridge the digital divide

[Commentary] [Democratic members of the House Commerce Committee's] infrastructure plan provides critical support for the next-generation communications networks. We are proposing to:

Solving the Rural Broadband Equation — Fund Infrastructure, Not Carriers.

When we think about solving the rural broadband problem, nearly everyone tries to answer the question: “How do I find a carrier to serve rural areas.” But that’s not actually the problem we’re trying to solve. The problem we’re actually trying to solve is getting people access to quality broadband so they can participate in the modern digital economy and modern society generally. 

Commissioner Rosenworcel Remarks at 20 Years of Connecting Schools and Libraries Policy Summit

More can be done to address the Homework Gap. Carriers across the country are pitching in by making available low-cost broadband service. Libraries everywhere from Maine to Missouri are loaning out wireless hotspots—and letting students borrow connectivity for schoolwork. Rural school districts are putting Wi-Fi on buses and turning ride time into connected time for homework. Communities are mapping out where free online access is available for student use. These efforts deserve applause. More importantly, they deserve expansion.

Chairman Pai Releases Summary of First Year Accomplishments

The Federal Communications Commission released an 8-page document outlining "A Year of Action and Accomplishment" led by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, broken down into the following categories: bridging the digital divide, promoting innovation and investment, protecting consumers and enhancing public safety, transparency and process reforms, and cutting and modernizing outdated regulations. 

Remarks of FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn at the Fourth Meeting of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee

Nearly one year ago, during the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee’s (BDAC) inaugural meeting, I urged this Committee to consider the needs and the capacity of low-income communities as you develop policy recommendations. I also reminded the Committee that all municipalities, areas, and communities are not created equal. It was thus my hope that the BDAC’s consensus-based approach would incorporate the concerns expressed by local government representatives of this Committee.

UN Broadband Commission sets global broadband targets to bring online the world’s 3.8 billion not connected to the Internet

Fifty percent of the world's population is expected to be connected to the Internet by the end of 2019. This leaves the other half – an estimated 3.8 billion people – unconnected and unable to benefit from key social and economic resources in our expanding digital world. In response, the United Nations' Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development has set seven ambitious yet achievable 2025 targets in support of  "Connecting the Other Half" of the world's population. 

Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development 2025 Targets:

Remarks of Chairman Pai at Fourth Meeting of Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee

Today happens to be the one-year anniversary of the President appointing me the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. That marker meshes well with today’s proceedings, for a couple of reasons. First, the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee’s (BDAC) work is critical to my top policy priority as FCC Chairman—closing the digital divide. A second reason why this one-year anniversary means something is that the BDAC reflects a core tenet of my policymaking approach: that the decisions we make inside this building must reflect input and fresh ideas from outside these walls.

To Bridge the Digital Divide or Not…That Is the Question as the FCC Cut Back Its Lifeline Program

Since Chairman Ajit Pai took over the leadership of the Federal Communications Commission, he has emphasized that one of his main goals has been to “close the digital divide and bring the benefits of the Internet age to all Americans.” So it comes as no surprise that the FCC has taken several measures recently to overhaul the Lifeline program under the tagline “Bridging the Digital Divide for Low-Income Consumers.” The November changes to the Lifeline Program were mainly cutbacks; reducing available subsidies, as well as limiting eligible participants and carriers.

Fact Sheet on FCC's Draft 2018 Broadband Deployment Report

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has circulated a draft 2018 Broadband Deployment Report to his colleagues and below are the key findings and additional information:

Innovators in Digital Inclusion: Connecting for Good

With a great amount of fanfare, Google picked Kansas City as its first Google Fiber city in July 2012. But the community’s commitment to full digital inclusion predates and runs much deeper than Google Fiber. Connecting for Good is one of Kansas City’s key digital inclusion partners. Michael Liimatta and Rick Deane knew each other through different community activities when, in 2011, they brainstormed the idea of Connecting for Good and found in it a mission they could share.

Put broadband first for rural Americans

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission estimated in 2017 that to deploy high-speed broadband to 98 percent of American homes, it would cost $40 billion. For 100 percent, the cost doubles. Which is why greater broadband infrastructure funding — both public and private — is urgently needed in remote areas, where the cost of connectivity infrastructure remains extreme.

Co-Chairs of Senate Broadband Caucus Urge President Trump to Include Dedicated Funding for Broadband Deployment

In a letter to President Donald Trump, Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Angus King (I-ME), John Boozman (R-AR), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)—the co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate Broadband Caucus—call for the prioritization of direct funding support for broadband deployment in an infrastructure package that will help close the digital divide and ensure our country maintains its global competitiveness. Stand-alone funding for broadband will ensure that telecommunications infrastructure is advanced alongside needed upgrades to our roads, rail, bridges, ports and waterways

Reps Eshoo and McKinley Introduce ‘Dig Once’ Legislation to Reduce Cost of Expanding Broadband

Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and David B. McKinley (R-WV) introduced the Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2018. This commonsense legislation, commonly referred to as ‘Dig Once’, would mandate the inclusion of broadband conduit—plastic pipes which house fiber-optic communications cable—during the construction of any road receiving federal funding. This practice will eliminate the need to dig up recently-paved roads to expand broadband infrastructure, significantly reducing the cost of increasing Internet access to underserved communities across the country.

Washington’s next big tech battle: closing the country’s digital divide

President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress are forging ahead with new plans to boost high-speed internet around the country, hoping that their signature crusade — deregulation — might help spur better web access in the country’s hardest-to-reach rural areas. The bid to boost broadband is expected to become a small but critical component of infrastructure reform, a still-evolving proposal that could set aside $200 billion in federal funds to upgrade the guts of the United States — including aging roads, bridges and tunnels.

Reaching rural America with broadband internet service

[Commentary] All across the US, rural communities’ residents are being left out of modern society and the 21st century economy. I’ve traveled to Kansas, Maine, Texas and other states studying internet access and use – and I hear all the time from people with a crucial need still unmet. Rural Americans want faster, cheaper internet like their city-dwelling compatriots have, letting them work remotely and use online services, to access shopping, news, information and government data.

FCC Chairman Pai Proposes Over $500 Million In Funding To Promote Rural Broadband Deployment

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai shared with his fellow commissioners an order to promote more high-speed broadband deployment in rural areas. If adopted, it would provide over $500 million in additional funding for cooperatives and small rural carriers. The order would also put in place strong new rules to prevent abuse of the high-cost program.

Building America’s 21st Century Broadband Infrastructure: It’s Time We All Got Connected.

[Commentary] The week of Jan 8, after President Donald Trump signed two significant executive orders on improving broadband infrastructure, members of the House Communications Subcommittee introduced four resolutions laying out our principles for broadband expansion nationwide. The resolutions include prioritizing infrastructure funding to areas that are currently unserved, easing the regulatory process, ensuring coordination among all levels of government, and establishing clear, consistent rules regardless of broadband technology.

Experimentation is the Watchword as Communities Seek to Close Adoption Gaps

For many low-income Americans, internet connectivity is a struggle. About half (53%) of those in households with annual incomes under $30,000 have a home broadband internet subscription plan, compared with 93% of households whose annual incomes exceed $75,000. This makes closing connectivity gaps a priority for policymakers, the non-profit sector, and many internet service providers (ISPs). What is perhaps less appreciated is the variety of models that have arisen to try to reach those without broadband at home. The population of non-home broadband users is not monolithic.

Lifeline program changes could cut low-cost internet for thousands in Ohio

Under changes the Federal Communications Commission recently proposed, fewer people may receive subsidized broadband service under the Lifeline program. Those left out will struggle to do online tasks such as filling out a job application, or paying bills online. About 12.5 million low-income people across the country, and thousands in Ohio, could be affected.There are even health implications, since so much of today's medicine relies on patients having the ability to make appointments, refill prescriptions and view test results online.

Online giants must accept responsibility for impacts on the physical world

[Commentary] While we’re engaging in a new assessment of technology’s transformative impacts, no one should leave aside tech’s most physically enormous influence: its big role in reshaping the nation’s urban geography. Scholars have for years suggested that tech might alter the city hierarchy. Most notably, Beaudry, Doms, and Lewis showed more than a decade ago that the cities that adopted personal computers earliest and fastest saw their relative wages increase the quickest.

Supporting President Trump’s Vision for Expanding Broadband in Rural America

Recently, President Donald Trump attended the American Farm Bureau Federation's Annual Convention in Nashville (TN) to announce the recommendations of the interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity. The Administration is taking immediate steps to reduce barriers to deployment of broadband in rural America. An executive order released on Jan 8 – Streamlining and Expediting Requests to Locate Broadband Facilities in Rural America – instructs agencies to remove obstacles to capital investment and broadband services and more efficiently employ government resources.

Rural broadband is our duty to farmers

[Commentary] A task force created by President Donald Trump has developed many recommendations for addressing this issue, but it has found one overarching challenge that we must overcome to ensure future rural prosperity. We must deploy high-speed internet access to rural America. E-connectivity is a tool that enables increased productivity for farms, factories, forests, and small businesses, and is fundamental for economic development and an improved quality of life.