Roberto Gallardo
2019 Digital Divide Index
This 2019 Digital Divide Index (DDI) is an updated version that scores: the overall digital divide index, infrastructure/adoption, and socioeconomic. For purposes of this post, we divided all census tracts in the country, whose DDI could be calculated, into three equal groups (roughly same number of tracts per group) based on their DDI score: low, medium, and high. Of the roughly 324 million residents in the U.S.
Indiana: 2019 State of Digital Inclusion
While digital inclusion can be framed as a social justice and equity issue, it can—and should—also be framed as a community and economic development issue. A digitally inclusive community or region ensures that all residents, organizations, and businesses can participate fully in an increasingly digitized community, society, and economy. This report will review a series of 2019 metrics to get a better idea of the state of digital inclusion in Indiana.
Digital inclusion and parity: Implications for community development
This paper introduces the concept of digital parity – similar levels of connectivity, devices, and skills between groups – that can lead to more digital inclusive communities. Utilizing a household survey measuring digital inclusiveness and analysis of variance (ANOVA), findings suggest that there are different levels of digital inclusiveness between groups. Differences in internet use and benefits are larger between younger and older groups. There are also differences between urban and rural areas.
State broadband policy: Impacts on availability
We use a county-level panel dataset from 2012 to 2018 to assess the impacts of various state policies on total and rural broadband availability in the US. The primary dependent variable is the percentage of residents with access to 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload speeds via a fixed connection, with alternative specifications considering other aspects of availability such as technology type and competition. We control for the main determinants of Internet availability such as income, education, age, and population density.
Remote Work and the Coronavirus
Large segments of the US workforce have shifted to remote work, but not all workers and communities are equally prepared for remote work or e-learning. Studies have found not all jobs/occupations are remote work friendly and internet access among school districts vary significantly.
DSL, the Slowest Technology, Remains the One Most Available in Rural
- Digital deserts exist, more so in rural areas.
- The urban-rural access divide is sizeable and still persists.
- A little less than half of housing units in the country are sliced up in between either top 6 only providers or other providers only.
- The technology with the largest footprint in the nation (DSL) also has the lowest median advertised speeds pointing to a potential quality of service issue.
A Look at Broadband Access, Providers and Technology
The Federal Communications Commission publishes a bi-annual dataset based on data submitted by internet service providers using Form 477. This dataset provides information at the Census block level, the most granular geography used by the US Census Bureau, on types of technologies available (e.g. Cable, Fixed Wireless, Fiber-optic, etc.), maximum advertised download/ upload speeds, and providers’ names among other information. However, this dataset has several limitations.
Rural Policy: ‘Here’s What We Need,’ Advocates Say
The Daily Yonder, working with the Rural Assembly, identified a dozen rural-policy advocates with firsthand knowledge about the impact of federal policy in rural communities. They asked these in-the-trenches experts to name the top policies they would like to see 2020 presidential candidates address and eventually enact. Roberto Gallardo, Assistant Director of the Purdue Center for Regional Development at Purdue University, wrote on Technology and Broadband:
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Digital Inclusion in the Upper Midwest: Implications for Regional Development
Despite these limitations, the digital inclusion indicators and metrics that we have analyzed do offer some insights on the steps that leaders and practitioners should consider in their community, economic, and workforce development efforts. They include:
Digital Distress in the Upper Midwest
Digital distress is defined as census tracts that have a higher percent of homes not subscribing to the internet or subscribing only through a cellular data plan as well as a higher percent of homes with no computing devices or relying only on mobile devices, no laptops or desktops. About 8.1 percent of the upper Midwest’s population (or 4.3 million people) lived in digitally distressed areas as of 2017.