Reports that employ attempts to inform communications policymaking in a systematically and scientific manner.
Research
Slow Internet? Find Out What Side of the Digital Divide You’re On
Does your neighborhood pay more money for slower internet compared to neighborhoods across town? This step-by-step guide helps you answer that question and more. All you need is a computer, a Google account, and (yes) internet access. The steps are as follows:
FCC Seeks Comment on Modifying the Calculation of Broadband Benchmarks
The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or Bureau)—in coordination with the Office of Economics and Analytics—seeks comment on modifying the calculation of the FCC's broadband reasonable comparability benchmarks for the Urban Rate Survey (URS or Survey). In particular, the Bureau seeks comment on methods for calculating benchmarks for a wider spectrum of service speeds as well as other proposed improvements. The FCC seeks comments on whether it should change how it calculates its broadband benchmarks using data collected through the URS.
2022 Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth Annual Report
The ACCESS BROADBAND Act requires the
New Dashboard Highlights Coordinated Federal Investments in High-Speed Internet Programs
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a new dashboard highlighting federal investments in high-speed Internet programs. NTIA developed the dashboard to accompany the Federal Broadband Funding Report.
Do Broadband Subsidies for Schools Improve Students’ Performance? Evidence from Florida.
Studies exploring the relationship between technology in the classroom and students’ outcomes have yielded mixed results. We contribute to the debate by examining the effects of broadband subsidies to schools on school performance measures in Florida. Specifically, using a nearly universal panel of Florida schools in the period 2016-2019, we assess the effect of federal broadband subsidies to schools via the E-Rate program on school grades.
How to Leverage Alternative Data Sources to Refine Broadband Availability Maps
A recent story in the Texas Tribune discussed how Texas’s broadband map shows service in some areas that residents say doesn’t exist.
What the Benton Institute Learned about Affordable Connectivity Plan Enrollment and Digital Equity Planning
The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society recently launched an ACP Enrollment Performance Tool to compare expected Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) enrollment to actual enrollment. The difference is a measure of performance. The tool displays actual ACP enrollment, predicted enrollment, as well as metrics that help users understand the drivers of good (or not-so-good) performance, such as housing costs or severe poverty.
The Benton Institute ACP Performance Tool
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is at an inflection point. Launched in early 2022, ACP provides 17 million households up to $30/month in subsidies to offset the cost of broadband. But the program faces two critical challenges. First, less than a third of eligible households currently participate in the program—mainly because the people who could benefit most from the subsidy are unaware that it exists. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), local governments, and digital equity groups are stepping up efforts to improve ACP awareness and participation.
The Digital Inclusion Outlook: What It Looks Like and Where It’s Lacking
Digital inclusion efforts need to target the reasons people remain offline, and at this point, the digital divide is more of a problem of adoption than deployment. Successful digital inclusion efforts have a few key things in common: They are flexible and individualized, adhere to consistent high-level standards, and share best practices to minimize waste while adapting programs to meet local needs. Digital inclusion efforts include any of the various attempts to get people online.