Digital Divide

On May 19, 2021, the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) released rules for the Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP). The highly anticipated rules contained a few surprises (a recommended, but voluntary 10 percent match) and at least a few non-surprises (Rural Digital Opportunity Fund areas are not eligible unless you are traversing them with middle mile).

The Biden administration’s strategy to tackle the digital divide places too much emphasis on wires and competition and too little on people and communities. By proposing $65 billion in broadband spending, the administration aims to spur marketplace competition, supercharge network speeds, and reduce home internet prices. Yet a lot can go wrong when prioritizing competition, as competition and affordability do not go hand-in-hand; when prices drop, they rarely fall to levels that make service affordable for low-income households who make up most of the disconnected.

House New York (HNY), an affiliate of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH), and the Broadband Equity Partnership are launching an initiative to create a comprehensive dataset of building-based connectivity solutions that will support the City and State in achieving universal broadband adoption in its affordable housing stock. The Affordable Housing Broadband Initiative (AHBI)–the first of its kind in the nation–is made possible by support from the Ford Foundation and Schmidt Futures.

With broadband affordability especially high on the agenda following the pandemic, it could seem that Europe has all the answers. Yet Europe has its own struggles with digital divide, and it hasn't cracked the affordability problem across the board.

Federal funding for broadband expansion is spread out over a number of different initiatives, which may make it difficult to decide on a funding strategy. Here are CTC Technology and Energy's points to consider when weighing your options for federal broadband funding:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Department of Agriculture are spending $8 million to build a rural broadband testing site in Ames, Iowa, that both industry engineers and researchers from Iowa State University plan to use for developing wireless technologies and piloting rural connectivity strategies.

President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan prioritizes “building ‘future proof’ broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas so that we finally reach 100 percent high-speed broadband coverage.” Many considered this an imperative to spend the funds on fiber-to-the-home connections. Yet is fiber—and more precisely, fiber-optic "last mile" connections into residences—really future proof? As the amount of devices and data generated have multiplied, fixed connections to them have diminished.

This report on the connection between access to broadband and labor force participation across all US metro areas finds that:

Chicago Public high school graduates would be guaranteed three more months of free, high-speed internet service — and those going on to City Colleges would get the perk for up to three years — thanks to an extension of “Chicago Connected,” a groundbreaking program bankrolled in part by Illinois’ richest man, Ken Griffin. Chicago Connected has reached 64,000 students across 42,000 households, bridging “nearly two-thirds” of the digital divide, according to City Hall. The proposed expansion aims to do even more:

As we continue to work to bring the pandemic to a close, I am already thinking about the lessons we have learned that should influence how we work toward the goal of broadband for all: