Marginalized Populations

Marginalized populations are those excluded from mainstream social, economic, educational, and/or cultural life. Examples of marginalized populations include, but are not limited to, groups excluded due to race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, language, and/or immigration status.

(August 19, 2022)

Nebraska PSC Awards Capital Projects Fund Grants For Broadband Buildout

The Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) approved an Order in docket CPF-1 awarding 65 grants totaling more than $61 million from the 2023 Capital Projects Fund (CPF) Grant Program. CPF grants are awarded by the PSC by in Congressional Districts One and Three.

How Tech Can Make It Excruciatingly Hard to Apply for a Job While Homeless

It’s hard to calculate the number of homeless people in the US. At the end of 2022, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development placed the number around 600,000, with 60 percent living in emergency shelters, safe havens, or transitional housing. HUD counted the remaining 40 percent as unsheltered—living outside or in other places considered unfit for habitation, such as in abandoned buildings or underground. Tech permeates every step of the job-search process.

Biden's internet affordability battle looms

President Joe Biden likened the importance of internet access to that of public utilities like “electricity or water.” “But, but, but, but,” President Biden added, “It’s not enough to have access. You need affordability in addition to access.” Biden’s remarks nodded to a key affordability initiative that could soon run out of funds — a looming battle that could shape the outcome of his plans to bring “internet for all.” The president highlighted the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

Urban and Rural Speed Parit

Over 81% of US households are now subscribed to a broadband speed of at least 200 Mbps. But broadband providers think that we are fixated too much on speed and that consumers don’t need faster speeds – they think that the marketing departments of the big providers have just convinced folks that faster speeds are important. But when talking about rural versus urban broadband speeds, the discussion can’t only be about what people need or don’t need.

South Texas Digital Equity RFP

Methodist Healthcare Ministries (MHM), a South Texas non-profit leader dedicated to creating access to health care for uninsured and low-income families, released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to advance digital equity in the region. The RFP is intended to increase the capacity of community-based organizations (CBOs) and community anchor institutions in South Texas to provide critical digital resources, services, and support.

States reach the unreachable with broadband line extension programs

Think about internet access in a community like a plate of crumbly cookies: Even if an internet service provider (ISP) takes a big bite out of each of the treats by servicing most addresses, the plate will still have broken pieces left behind. Such is the logic for statewide line extension programs around the US. The purpose of these programs is connecting homes and businesses just out of reach of existing last-mile i

Remarks of Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to the American Library Association Annual Conference

I know the evolution of libraries as the place where the public goes for books to the place where the public goes for everything is creating new challenges as you address new needs. But we know millions of people in this country are on the wrong side of the digital divide. Libraries help fill that gap. You have computer labs. You teach digital skills.

Boosting Digital Equity in Phoenix

A partnership between Common Sense Media, Arizona State University (ASU), and the Digital Equity Institute is working to increase awareness of and enroll eligible households in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Through a multipoint marketing campaign targeted to low-income communities with high eligibility for the federal broadband subsidy program, Common Sense Media is directing Phoenix residents toward the ASU Experience Center, a call center with more than 100 phone specialists.

Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture Bill

The Senate Committee on Appropriations approved, on a 28-0 vote, the fiscal year 2024 Agriculture bill. The committee provides $98 million for the ReConnect program at the Department of Agriculture. The committee again reminds USDA that funding should not be used in areas that are already largely served and should be focused in areas where at least 90% of households lack access. In doing so, the committee intends that USDA

Senators Suggest FCC Explore Supplemental Funding for RDOF Winners

Since Phase I of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) concluded, it has become more expensive to deploy broadband due to rampant increases in construction materials, equipment, and labor costs. Given the challenges, RDOF winners—especially smaller providers—are facing, we appreciate your review of the following options: