Digital Divide

Although there is already a ton of fantastic work being done on the ground, many of the groups doing that work would benefit from more funding that could be used to conduct direct Affordable Connectivity Program outreach, train digital navigators, and more. The Federal Communications Commission is currently engaged in a rulemaking to develop rules for how the grant program would work.

The future of the state’s high-speed internet and wireless connectivity was recently at the center of discussions between industry, community and university leaders at Ohio State University. President Kristina Johnson joined Lt Gov Jon Husted, director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation (OWT), to open the first meeting of the Ohio Broadband & 5G Sector Partnership.

One of the most interesting sections of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) requires that states must define how they are going to make it easier for grant recipients to implement broadband solutions.

The Michelson 20MM Foundation is proud to launch the Digital Equity in Tribal Communities Project, a new multi-year effort to address digital inequity in indigenous communities. This project looks to empower tribal nations with the knowledge, tools, and means necessary to access the internet and the opportunities that come with it. We aim to center the voices, expertise, and wisdom of tribal leaders in our efforts because the solutions for the challenges faced by the community must come from those most knowledgeable of the community’s needs.

The US government has spent billions of dollars on several rounds of programs to upgrade internet speeds in rural areas over the past decade. Despite those efforts, many residents are still stuck with service that isn’t fast enough to do video calls or stream movies—speeds that most take for granted.

For college students, reliable broadband access isn’t just about watching a new Netflix series or playing video games. It affects our very ability to educate ourselves and, by extension, to shape our futures and contribute to our democratic society. It allows us to read our online textbooks, to access articles and books for our research assignments, and to upload resumes for jobs and internships.

The National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA)'s Internet Use Survey of November 2021 confirms what the data has said in the past: the digital divide is predominantly a problem of a lack of interest, not affordability, at least with respect to adoption. Affordability is not the dominant driver of non-adoption, a result spanning many years. Also, as adoption rises over time, a lack of interest will increasingly explain non-adoption and price less so. This result comports with economic reasoning.

Nokia announces a “network-in-a-box” fiber to the home (FTTH) kit aimed at rural broadband service providers. Nokia’s Broadband Relief Kit builds a town network of up to 1,000 homes, and the company said it’s set aside 25 of these kits for broadband providers.

It’s hard to look anywhere in the broadband industry today and not hear about digital inclusion. One big reason for this is the two giant grant programs created by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to tackle digital equity issues. The first is the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, that will allocate $1.5 billion to the States for this program – that’s $300 million per year from 2022 through 2026. The second is the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program.

Millions of dollars are going toward expanding high-speed internet access in Louisiana, driving demand for a workforce without a clear path to entry. But a local solution is in the works. Bridging the digital divide has become a priority for Louisiana since the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the crucial role that high-speed internet plays in the state’s education and economic systems. Using federal funds, the state launched a $180 million program in 2021 to provide underserved areas with high-speed internet.