Digital Divide

While cellphones, and now modern smartphones, have brought new ways to access information to more people than ever, there are still many left behind. Martin Cooper, who led the team at Motorola and is credited as the father of the cellphone, estimates that 40% of the students in this country don't have access to broadband wireless. "Just imagine what that means over the long term," he said.

Congress' December Covid-19 relief bill included $3.2 billion to help low-income Americans pay for broadband service, as the country continues its push toward recovery from the health and economic crisis. Registration for consumers are expected to begin next month.

The Senate — following a grueling vote-a-rama on March 5-6 — has finally approved a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill, bringing it one step closer to becoming law. The House is slated to take up the Senate version of the bill shortly and send it to President Joe Biden for his signature. Included in the bill is a provision that establishes a $7.6 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund, to be implemented by the Federal Communications Commission, to expand internet connectivity to students and teachers during the pandemic.

Some students in Hyde and Swain counties will soon be able to access high-speed internet via satellite technology, thanks to a pilot program aimed at improving internet access to support remote learning.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced next steps on the City’s efforts to achieve affordable and universal broadband. With a historic $157 million capital investment, the City is releasing a Request for Proposals that invites the telecommunications industry to create new affordable broadband service options through a first-ever coordinated system of access of up to 100,000 City assets, prioritizing areas identified by the Task Force on Racial Inclusion and Equity.

Windstream is looking to leverage funds from two Federal Communications Commission programs as it expands broadband Internet and related services to new markets and customers. Kinetic, Windstream’s community broadband business, announced that it plans to participate in the FCC’s $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit program. “As soon as the FCC is ready to take this program live, we are ready to implement it so any e

To participate in the Federal Communications Commission's new Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, broadband providers must submit information to the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau and the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). Accordingly, the Bureau announces the following milestone dates for the provider application and election processes. For providers that haven't previously participated in federal assistance programs, a portal to file applications will open on Monday, March 8.

A high-stakes auction of government-owned airwaves to mobile broadband providers is set to drop a record windfall exceeding $80 billion into the US Treasury. Two additional auctions of wireless frequency bands, called spectrum, are on tap for 2021 and slated to follow the same course. The nation has become painfully aware of the digital divides that are widening inequality, slowing productivity, and impeding innovation.

In the Fall of 2020, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance partnered with the Salt Lake City Public Library and Urban Libraries Council to bridge the Digital Divide in Salt Lake City through the launch of a Digital Navigators pilot project. To prepare for direct service in Dec 2020, program leadership at the City Library and NDIA worked collaboratively to develop several tools for Digital Navigators to use as they recorded and addressed the needs of community members in Salt Lake City.

Right out of the gate, President Joe Biden has identified two main priorities: fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and promoting inclusive economic recovery. These are difficult tasks by any measure, but fortunately, meeting another major challenge unites both goals: universal and affordable broadband.