Experts Explore Measures to Close the Digital Divide

As federal and local authorities continue to struggle to close the digital divide in the United States, innovative researchers are using new approaches to understand why some people "adopt" broadband -- and why some do not.

On Wednesday, April 11, a group of more than 30 researchers, practitioners, and policymakers gathered for a workshop targeted toward establishing more effective broadband policy frameworks. The New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative convened the day-long event, Defining and Measuring Meaningful Broadband Adoption, where researchers highlighted both barriers and incentives embedded in digital inclusion policies. Experts examined diverse approaches to measuring broadband adoption and reported on complexities that are often left unaccounted for. This refinement of measurement frameworks has consequences for how federally-funded broadband programs are evaluated and sustained for the future.