Digital Divide

More than 30 million Americans live in communities that lack broadband infrastructure, or don’t provide minimally acceptable speeds to log onto the internet successfully. Rural areas, some tribal lands, and under-served Black and Brown communities are among those often lacking adequate access. The broadband access issue is getting major attention right now.

Charter Communications employees who have been on strike since 2017 are building an Internet service provider in New York City called "People's Choice." "People's Choice Communications is an employee-owned social enterprise launched by members of IBEW Local #3 to bridge the digital divide and help our neighbors get connected to the Internet during the COVID-19 pandemic," the ISP's website says. "We are the workers who built a large part of New York City's Internet infrastructure in the first place.

Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel revealed just how soon she hopes to set up the $7 billion subsidy program aimed at helping students get internet connections at home. Congress slated this money for the FCC as part of the pandemic relief package that President Joe Biden signed into law in march. The FCC is still “mid-course in developing” the program for doling out these subsidies, which could help put Wi-Fi hotspots and modems in the hands of students stuck at home, said Chairman Rosenworcel.

AT&T announced it will invest $2 billion over the next 3 years to help address the digital divide. 

Expanding affordable broadband through AT&T’s low-cost offers and the Emergency Broadband Benefit program administered by the Federal Communications Commission

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) launched an ambitious multi-state effort to pass state legislation that would establish public utility commission oversight of broadband in public safety, network resiliency and consumer protection.

In COVID times, many courts remain closed to in-person proceedings. Hearings continue online. They are streamlined, quick and, for some, convenient. Participants with busy lives can attend on their lunch break at work or at home while caring for their kids. But without greater attention to equal access, remote justice is likely to leave tenants and landlords alike worse off. Many tenants behind on rent also lack the technological resources to participate effectively in virtual proceedings. They may have no internet service or unreliable, spotty service.

Though an entire year has passed since the beginning of the pandemic, many of the broadband access problems that were present last March have only worsened with the passage of time.

The newly enacted New York state budget requires nearly all internet providers to sell broadband service for $15 a month to low-income customers who qualify for food stamps, Medicaid or similar benefits. Internet providers have 60 days to start offering minimum internet speeds of 25 megabits per second for $15 a month to qualifying customers. They have the option to provide 100 Mbps service for $20. The mandated service is similar to what state regulators already require from two of the state’s largest providers, Spectrum and Optimum.

The Comprehensive Broadband Connectivity Act, originally co-sponsored in the New York state Assembly by Mike Norris (R-Lockport), tasks the state Public Service Commission to study the availability, reliability and cost of broadband services. The Public Service Commission is tasked with: identifying barriers to the delivery of internet at a census block level, which is the smallest geographical census unit; problem solving for underserved areas with available technology; and identifying providers' noncompliance with franchise agreements where local governments have complained to the commiss

A group of leaders with direct lines to the Biden administration—including Common Sense Media’s Jim Steyer, former Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA), and former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings—is launching a commission that will assemble a “blueprint” for a comprehensive tech policy agenda under President Biden, with a focus on soliciting input from people inside as well as outside DC. There’s still a ton we don’t know about where the Biden administration will come down on issues at the heart of the tech industry, like privacy and Section 230 reform.