John Austin
Can broadband bridge our economic and political divides?
In November 2021, Congress passed the long-stalled $1 trillion dollar bipartisan infrastructure package. This includes a $65 billion dollars in federal finding for broadband. This investment, which includes potentially hundreds of millions of dollars for Michigan to extend broadband to smaller towns and rural reaches, promises to stitch these communities and their residents into our global tech-driven economy — giving them a chance to learn and do business with the world.
In Michigan, closing the digital divide can unite the ‘red’ and the ‘blue’
Among the many truths COVID-19 has exposed about Michigan’s economy and society is the state’s stark digital divide, which is limiting educational opportunity in both highly segregated urban “blue” communities and rural “red” areas as well.