The Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA) released a poll conducted by Morning Consult revealing that nearly all American voters support Congress using federal funds to expand high-speed broadband internet access. The majority of voters in the US want Congress to act “immediately” to close the Digital Divide.
The Trump Administration announced that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing nearly $10 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in Tennessee. This investment is part of both the $100 million Congress allocated to the ReConnect Program through the CARES Act and the $550 million available in the second round of ReConnect Program Funding.
To take advantage of technology, farmers require broadband connectivity in the fields where they operate. However, rural farm communities continue to be underserved with access to broadband infrastructure. In order to feed the world now and in the future, we must act, and act urgently, to expand rural broadband infrastructure—including delivering wireless connectivity to farming operations – to take full advantage of future precision agriculture technologies.
Data collected from an April 7-12 Pew survey found 59% of parents with lower incomes who had children in schools that were remote at the time said their children would likely face at least one of three digital obstacles asked about. Overall, 38% of parents with children whose K-12 schools closed in the spring said that their child was very or somewhat likely to face one or more of these issues. In addition, parents with middle incomes were about twice as likely as parents with higher incomes to report anticipating issues.
Getting the internet to everyone is not just about tech: It’s even more a policy question, one tied up in politics.
For the 2020 American Views survey, Gallup and Knight polled more than 20,000 U.S. adults and found deepening pessimism and further partisan entrenchment about how the news media delivers on its democratic mandate for factual, trustworthy information. Many Americans feel the media’s critical role of informing and holding those in power accountable is compromised by increasing bias. As such, Americans have not only lost confidence in the ideal of an objective media, they believe news organizations actively support the partisan divide.
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