You’re reading the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society’s Weekly Digest, a recap of the biggest (or most overlooked) broadband stories of the week. The digest is delivered via e-mail each Friday.

Round-Up for the Week of December 9-13, 2024

In 2022, President Joe Biden (D-DE) signed the Data Mapping to Save Moms' Lives Act, which directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “incorporate publicly available data on maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity into the agency’s Mapping Broadband Health in America platform, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” The bipartisan bill was introduced in 2021 by Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Todd Young (R-IN), and Brian Schatz (D-HI), with a goal of identifying where improved access to telehealth services can be most effective in reducing maternal mortality.

At the October 2024 FCC Open Meeting the Connect2Health task force presented on the mapping effort, and announced updates to the platform that would launch the following month, including improved broadband mapping data and the addition of facts about infant health outcomes, breast cancer prevalence, and other social indicators of health.

Health, Maternal Mortality, and the FCC

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country in the world. More than 50,000 pregnancies face severe complications every year. The crisis disproportionately impacts non-Hispanic, Black, and American Indian/Alaska Native pregnant women at almost two to three times the rate of non-Hispanic white pregnant women.

Although not one of the five official social determinants of health, internet access is increasingly recognized as a “super determinant” of health. Internet access itself plays a role in health outcomes, as well as in other social determinants of health, including education, employment, and healthcare access. Evidence suggests that populations in counties with higher broadband connectivity have better health outcomes than populations in counties with lower rates of connectivity. 

In 2016, the Connect2HealthFCC Task Force launched the Mapping Broadband Health in America platform to “enable and inform more efficient, data-driven decision making at the intersection of broadband and health.”

The tool allows users to analyze broadband and health data at national, state, and county levels. The platform has revealed stark differences in health outcomes in connected communities versus digitally isolated communities (defined as counties where 60 percent of households lack access to broadband). 

Initial key findings from the tool, released in 2017 based on data from December 2015, suggest that:

• The picture of health remains notably different between connected communities and digitally isolated communities. 
• The least connected counties generally have the highest rates of chronic disease. Obesity prevalence is 25 percent higher and diabetes prevalence is 41 percent higher in these counties.
• Most of the counties with the worst access to primary care physicians are also the least connected (i.e., 40- 60% of consumers in these counties do not subscribe to even basic Internet at home).
• Preventable hospitalizations (i.e., hospital stays that could have been avoided with appropriate care) are 1.5 times higher in the least connected counties compared to other counties.

Research suggests that 80 percent of maternal deaths in the US are preventable. In 2019, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote about how technology could help address the maternal health crisis in the US. She noted that “lack of access to nearby care and missed or delayed diagnoses are significant factors in pregnancy-related deaths.” Access to telehealth could eliminate barriers to care for the millions of women who live in maternal care deserts, and allow for better care, mental health support, and more timely medical interventions. 

With the passage of the Data Mapping to Save Moms' Lives Act, Congress aimed to “increase the quality of maternal care and reduce the prevalence of poor maternal health outcomes” by generating maps that provide insight into the intersection of broadband and maternal health “where maternal mortality rates are especially high and . . . where critical telehealth resources need to be deployed.”

The addition of maternal health data to the Mapping Broadband Health in America tool allows users to see the intersections of maternal morbidity risk factors with social determinants of health, availability of obstetric services, and broadband access to visualize patterns and disparities that impact maternal morbidity outcomes. The FCC worked with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to identify “proxy” variables to address gaps in reportable maternal mortality and morbidity data. As a result, the platform was updated in October 2024 to include health risk factors such as gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, and pre-pregnancy obesity.

Broadband and Moms' Lives

More data on the intersection of broadband access and maternal health offers a promising avenue toward addressing the country’s maternal mortality crisis. Through the Mapping Broadband Health in America tool and the actions directed in the Data Mapping to Save Moms' Lives Act, the FCC is taking critical steps toward ensuring that all pregnant women have access to the care and resources to stay healthy.

More on the Mapping Maternal Health Platform

• FCC Launches New Maternal Health Mapping Platform

Quick Bits

• Rep. Brett Guthrie wins powerful House Energy and Commerce gavel
• FCC Modifies Letter of Credit Rules to Facilitate Broadband Buildout
• The Divide: Gigi Sohn on growing, funding and defending public broadband networks

Weekend Reads

• 2024 State broadband special report
• Digital Equity Researcher Inventory
• FINISH BEAD

ICYMI from Benton

• EducationSuperHighway's Affordable Broadband Proposal
• Cruz Creating Detours on the Road to Internet For All
• Elections Matter—2024 Edition

Upcoming Events

• Dec 17—Ethical Data Research Listening Session (NTIA)

• Dec 19––Technological Advisory Council (FCC)

• Jan 15––January 2025 Open Federal Communications Commission Meeting (FCC)

• Feb 11––State of the Net Conference 2025 (Internet Education Foundation)

• Feb 25––The Attention Economy: Monopolizing Kids’ Time Online (FTC)

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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Benton Institute
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