Digital Divide

Allegan County’s journey to universal connectivity has overcome a number of obstacles: accurately determining the extent of connectivity gaps, exploring potential strategic solutions, and tackling costs in a manner palatable to the community. Advancing this initiative required a leader with deep industry knowledge and a strong connection to the community.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced the E-Rate and Rural Health Care (RHC) programs’ annual caps for funding year 2024. The adjusted amounts represent a 3.6% inflation-adjusted increase to both programs’ funding year 2023 annual caps. The E-Rate program funding cap for funding year 2024 is $4,940,076,139. The RHC program funding cap for funding year 2024 is $706,926,603.

The United States has lately gotten serious about broadband expansion, with the federal government spending tens of billions of dollars to deploy services all over the country — especially in rural areas, where coverage is sparse. But how widely connectivity is available matters little if consumers can’t afford it.

Some State Broadband Offices are taking a stab at social engineering by trying to force BEAD grant winners to offer low broadband rates. I understand the sentiment behind this because everybody in the industry involved with digital equity issues hears stories about homes that can’t afford broadband even when it is available. I know this feels like a broadband office is doing something good, but there are a number of reasons why this is a terrible idea.

Thanks to our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 46,000 new projects have been announced across your communities – modernizing our roads and bridges, ports and airports, and public transit systems. ... Providing affordable high speed internet for every American no matter where you live. 

When former librarian and author Jean Armour Polly first introduced the idea of having computers in libraries in the early 1980s, she was met with pushback. "People scoffed and said, 'Why would you go to a library to use a computer?'" she said. Even when the internet rolled around, many librarians felt they were supposed to be the sole gatekeepers of knowledge and information. "But I just knew it would be a wonderful thing. You know, school kids could use [computers] in schools, but what about the lifelong learners? And adults and seniors?" Polly said.

We’ve heard the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) say 2024 is “the year of execution” for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson revealed how the agency is juggling BEAD along with its initiatives focused on digital equity and artificial intelligence (AI) risks. When Davidson first took the helm at NTIA, plenty of states didn’t even have broadband offices.

Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II (D-MI) and the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) announced that the Biden Administration has approved Michigan’s proposed State Challenge Process, which will give Michiganders an opportunity to help identify locations across the state that are eligible for high-speed internet infrastructure expansion through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

Most of the concern over the impending demise of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)—the federal subsidy that’s made broadband cheaper or free for more than 23 million households—has focused on the people about to have a new hole drilled in their monthly budgets. Attendees at a DC conference hosted by an association of smaller telecom firms feel their pain: “Half of our problem in this nation is not accessibility, it's affordability,” said ACA Connects President and CEO Patricia Jo Boyers, at the group’s 

A look at how Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are using Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program funding to impact the students, faculty, staff, and residents in the communities that they serve. According to a 2021 report by McKinsey & Company, 82% of HBCUs are located in broadband deserts. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s funding for minority communities intends to elevate community partners and work toward closing deep-rooted digital divides.