The Truth About the Digital Divide

At the outset of their recent Op-Ed, Blair Levin and Larry Downes reject federal policymakers’ singular focus on promoting rural broadband deployment, arguing that the digital divide is not merely a question of rural access. In fact, they rightly note that there are more disconnected folks in urban areas than in rural ones. Millions of disconnected people live where broadband is already deployed, but still don’t subscribe to it. However, the Op-Ed’s promise is dashed when the authors replicate the same kind of narrow-minded mistake they seek to correct. They insist that the only “real” solution to the digital divide is persuading disconnected people of the internet’s value — essentially trading one false silver bullet for another. The reality is that broadband adoption — particularly for wired service — is highly dependent on income and race. Poorer individuals and people of color are disproportionately more likely to be disconnected, and disproportionately more likely to adopt if there were more affordable services. Low-income communities and communities of color by and large want internet service, but are prevented from adopting for a slate of complex reasons — including the fact that broadband prices are too damn high. That’s a serious injustice that denies millions of people the ability to pursue educational and economic opportunities, organize for justice and connect with loved ones.

[Floberg is the Policy Manager at Free Press]