Low-income

7% of US adults say they do not use the internet. Internet non-adoption is linked to a number of demographic variables, but is strongly connected to age – with older Americans continuing to be one of the least likely groups to use the internet. Today, 25% of adults ages 65 and older report never going online, compared with much smaller shares of adults under the age of 65. Educational attainment and household income are also indicators of a person’s likelihood to be offline.

The Federal Communications Commission published an initial list of broadband providers that have elected to participate in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. Thus far approximately 319 providers plan on participating. There will be a provider in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and half of US territories. The list will be updated as more providers join the program.  Learn more about the Emergency Broadband Benefit, including eligibility details, by visiting: fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit

New York City is making broadband access a necessary component of new affordable-housing projects that use city funds.

Wireless carriers TruConnect, American Broadband & Telecommunications, Standup Wireless, and SafetyNet Wireless have asked the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its Emergency Broadband Benefit Program rules. The carriers say the rules unintentionally allow eligible consumers in the program to obtain multiple connected devices, even though the FCC only authorizes one connected device per eligible household.

Baltimore City has a digital divide. COVID didn’t create this; rather, our digital divide is an outgrowth of pre-existing disparities, exacerbated by a global pandemic. The result is that Black and Latinx communities in our city are disproportionately harmed by both the COVID-19 virus and the economic recession.

The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing applications from internet service providers to join the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. The program has already received more than 380 applications from broadband providers interested in offering discounted services, though a program start date hasn’t been set. The FCC will send eligible households $50 per month for broadband service and as much as a $100 one-time benefit for a new computer or tablet.

What constitutes a lifeline in 2021? Is it a phone? A smartphone? A fixed-location broadband connection? Or some combination of all these services?

A large contingent of ACA Connects member companies is on track to participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Broadband Benefit Program from the day it launches. More than 100 members have expressed interest and completed necessary steps to join the program.

Sixteen Senate Democrats introduced new legislation building on the Emergency Broadband Connections Act to ensure working families can stay online through the current economic and health crisis. The new legislation would authorize an additional $6 billion for the Emergency Broadband Benefit program, to accommodate high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are estimated 12 million students who, according to a recent analysis, lack internet service or make do with a patchwork of short-term fixes to participate in remote learning. Their issues are regionally specific, from a lack of broadband in the isolated reaches of Appalachia to worn-out and obsolete devices distributed to poor families on Chicago’s South Side.