The southwest corner of New Hampshire will be blanketed with fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks over the next two years, as 16 communities are drawing up plans to enter into public-private partnerships to boost high-speed Internet access in the state. According to New Hampshire’s Southwest Region Planning Commission (SWRPC), six more cities have also issued warrant articles indicating their interest in partnering with a private In
While the digital divide is now a globally understood phenomenon, service designers are still designing and building public technology systems that depend on the internet, preferencing the well-connected and embedding the digital divide. The tendency to design services for the internet—in both technology adoption and in the services that depend on them—are the digital services design divide. Service by service, the people underserved by technology are categorically and cumulatively marginalized by public services.
Before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, communities and schools recognized that students without Internet access at home are at a disadvantage. However, an overlooked aspect of this disparity is that many students also lack a desktop or laptop computer at home. Disconnected students likely benefit if they are given free Internet; however, their school performance may still suffer if they are limited to completing assignments on a smartphone.
Governor Roy Cooper announced the creation of a new Office of Digital Equity and Literacy, a first for North Carolina and the first in the nation. The office is part of the newly created Division of Broadband and Digital Equity within the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT), elevating Gov Cooper's priority to close the digital divide in North Carolina. NCDIT Secretary Jim Weaver has named Nate Denny as the new Deputy Secretary of Broadband and Digital Equity. Jeremy Collins, who served as director of the NC@High Speed initiative in Gov.
The Federal Communications Commission is seeking nominations for membership on the Communications Equity and Diversity Council (CEDC).
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