The Federal Communications Commission has considered four aspects of diversity: 1) Viewpoint diversity ensures that the public has access to a wide range of diverse and antagonistic opinions and interpretations provided by opportunities for varied groups, entities and individuals to participate in the different phases of the broadcast industry; 2) Outlet diversity is the control of media outlets by a variety of independent owners; 3) Source diversity ensures that the public has access to information and programming from multiple content providers; and 4) Program diversity refers to a variety of programming formats and content.
Diversity
The Joint Center Files Comments with FCC Urging Equitable Broadband Infrastructure Buildout in the Black Rural South
Joint Center President Spencer Overton filed reply comments with the Federal Communications Commission “to prevent digital discrimination by ensuring that Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act broadband resources are equitably deployed in the Black Rural South.” Black households in the Black Rural South are among the most unserved by broadband in the nation, and the federal infrastructure law represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix this problem.
Digital divide creates challenges in connecting older adults to post-pandemic resources
As the world inches towards full emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic, California says older adults were hit the hardest in the past couple of years. The digital divide was partly the reason why. Director of the California Department of Aging (DOA), Susan DeMarois, says extreme isolation, resource availability, and elder abuse for those 60 years old and older have all increased since 2020. That's on top of this population experiencing the highest mortality rate for the virus.
The Digital Equity Action Research Fellowship
In November 2021, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Black Brilliance Research Project (BBR), and Community Informatics Lab at Simmons University launched the six-city Digital Equity Action Research (DEAR) Fellowship. The DEAR Fellowship helped young adults, ages 19–24, learn participatory action research skills to examine and address the root causes of digital inequities in their communities. Participatory Action Research (PAR) is different from traditional research paradigms.
EDA Announces Economic Recovery Corps and Equity Impact Investments Programs
The Economic Development Administration has announced a new funding opportunity that includes two programs that will strengthen equitable economic development strategies across the nation. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) funds two distinct national programs designed to support underserved communities and populations across the country in developing successful economic development plans and projects.
Cleveland seeks plans for $20 million project to provide broadband access to 50,000 residents within a year
Cleveland (OH) is seeking proposals for how to provide broadband internet to city residents through a $20 million plan funded by COVID stimulus money.
AT&T takes defensive stance in digital redlining comments
On February 23, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice of Inquiry related to digital redlining and how to prevent it in the future. Digital redlining is a practice in which some service providers have historically avoided providing broadband connections to certain areas, resulting in digital discrimination of some races and economic classes. Many large wireline providers have already filed comments with the FCC, including Verizon, AT&T and Lumen Technologies.
Rep Schneider Reintroduces Legislation to Make Online Resources Available to LGBTQ Students
Rep Brad Schneider (D-IL) re-introduced legislation to ensure critical online LGBTQ resources are not blocked at schools and public libraries. Currently, public schools and libraries that receive discounted telecommunications and internet rates through the Federal Communication Commission E-Rate Program must enforce an internet safety policy that in some cases leads to the blocking of useful LGBTQ resources.
California’s Plan to Close the Digital Divide Hits Industry Roadblocks
California has $6 billion in federal COVID relief funds with which to close the digital divide, but advocates argue that telecom industry proposals could sabotage the state’s high-stakes experiment in online democracy. In Sacramento (CA), companies are jockeying to be first in line for multimillion-dollar state grants to connect the unconnected, advocates say, and pressuring lawmakers to weaken provisions that would make broadband more affordable to low-income Californians.
Creating and Expanding a Diverse Broadband Workforce with Good Jobs and Career Pathways
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program's Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) includes workforce development as a critical component of state plans and applications for funding—and appropriately so, as creating good jobs and developing the broadband workforce necessary to deliver on this historic investment is a critical first step for any state or territory seeking to expand broadband to its unserved and underserved residents.