All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are currently working on digital equity plans. As they release draft plans seeking public feedback, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is sharing summaries focused on how states define their digital divides and their vision for reaching digital equity.

The Florida Department of Commerce (FloridaCommerce) released the State of Florida’s Digital Adoption and Use Plan for public comment. FloridaCommerce developed this plan to serve as the state’s benchmark and roadmap for closing the digital divide and increasing digital access across the state. The plan is informed by a vision and an overarching aim for what a connected economy looks like for all Floridians. Complementary goals, strategies, and objectives serve as a guiding framework for how the state will go about realizing its vision and addressing the needs and gaps of broadband availability, affordability, and adoption. The deadline for public feedback on the plan is Sunday, January 7, 2024.

The plan includes five core themes:

1. Take inspiration from Florida’s Strategic Plan for Broadband: The inspiration for many of the components found in the plan was taken from Florida’s Strategic Plan for Broadband (“Strategic Plan”). Developing the Strategic Plan involved many of the same steps—including robust stakeholder engagement; leading practices research; and asset, needs, and gaps identification. The intent of this plan is to align as closely as possible with the Strategic Plan where appropriate, while also including additional data and information as required by the Digital Equity Act.
2. Empower local governments and locally-owned solutions: The state will play a key role in supporting digital adoption and use initiatives and programming across Florida. However, local communities are best positioned to understand and customize digital access efforts to most effectively reach their residents. This plan acknowledges the distinct roles of the state and local communities, in addition to other key players and community anchor institutions. Local Technology Planning Teams (LTPTs) will be a key part of this approach. [LTPTs are statutorily created county-level teams devoted to technology and broadband planning for communities.]
3. Identify and collaborate with trusted community advisors: A key tenet of this plan is its emphasis on trusted community advisors to help drive adoption and digital access. Stakeholder engagement highlighted an overwhelming belief and support for the power of community partners—to both help support more Floridians in having the skills to participate meaningfully in a digital world and to increase the provision of Internet-enabled devices that meet each Floridian’s unique needs.
4. Understand the unique barriers for Florida’s covered populations: Everyone engages with the Internet from a different starting point. The unique demographic composition of the communities in Florida plays a role in how individuals approach and engage in high-speed Internet. Only by understanding the challenges that might face the covered populations can Florida begin to explore the best solutions to broadband adoption and use.  
5. Align with the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Five-Year Action Plan: The Digital Adoption and Use Plan was developed concurrently with the BEAD Five-Year Action Plan to encourage cohesion and avoid contradictory strategies.

Vision for Digital Adoption and Use

The Florida Office of Broadband envisions a future where every Floridian benefits from a connected economy through the meaningful use of high-speed Internet—to enhance educational and employment opportunities, access telehealth, and engage with families, and local communities.

Reducing Florida's digital divide will not be a one-size-fits-all approach. The state's geographic size and the significant size of its covered populations mean that various methods, technologies, and configurations will need to be deployed to reduce the digital divide for all Floridians. Local community leaders and organizations who understand these unique needs are best equipped to help Florida realize its vision for digital adoption and use. With the help of the state’s Local Technology Planning Teams (LTPTs), community anchor institutions (CAIs), Florida’s federally recognized tribes, local governments, Internet and broadband service providers, and others, the state can reduce the digital divide for all its citizens. The state will also place a heavy emphasis on the use of reliable, up-to-date, and detailed data to effectively allocate resources. By harnessing the power of collaborative partnerships and accurate data, the state can better address both the availability and reliability of broadband, as well as the need for digital devices and the skills required to meaningfully use those devices.  

The Florida Office of Broadband, together with internal and external partners, will work to achieve the vision of widespread digital adoption and use so that every Floridian can access jobs and education, be more resilient in the face of economic challenges or environmental disasters, and enjoy better quality of life.  

Florida's Digital Divide

The 2017-2021 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the state of Florida is home to around 8 million households. Among these households, the ACS finds that 74 percent have a broadband Internet subscription through fiber, cable, or digital subscriber line (DSL). This translates to some 2 million households that have not adopted broadband wireline services.

According to polling conducted during a series of 10 virtual public workshops hosted by the Office of Broadband in 2021, cost was cited as the second most important factor to Florida communities regarding their broadband Internet, second to reliability.

The percentage of Floridians who are part of a covered population is higher than the national average, especially across three populations: minority groups, aging individuals, and individuals facing language barriers. And although the percentage of Florida’s population living in rural communities is considerably smaller than the national average (8.5% vs. 20%), the impact of these communities is significant. Nearly two million rural Floridians often live in unserved or underserved communities. Availability of broadband in these areas will be a focus for BEAD deployment funding. 

In terms of broadband connectivity, Florida is noteworthy in two ways. On the one hand, a significantly higher percentage of Floridians have access to broadband compared to the national average. On the other hand, while Floridians enjoy a high rate of broadband access, the state also has one of the country’s highest levels of residents not using either the Internet or digital devices (e.g., PCs, laptops, or tablet computers). Florida is second only to Nevada in the highest percentage of state residents who do not use the Internet and is tied with Texas for the third-highest percentage of residents who do not use PCs, laptops, or tablets. 

Evidence suggests that the divergence between broadband coverage and digital resource usage may be driven in part by Florida’s large aging population. In Florida, individuals ages 65 and older are nearly 9 percent less likely to have broadband Internet than those ages 18 to 64. Adults ages 18-64 are also four times more likely to have a computer than those over 65. This age-based variation should be considered when trying to increase broadband and computer usage across the state. 

Strategy and Objectives

Using the overarching vision for digital adoption and use, the Florida Office of Broadband outlined measurable objectives and implementation strategies. Florida identified five implementation strategies:

1. Broadband Availability & Affordability: Identify un/underserved communities and promote the public and private funding mechanisms to increase service and affordability.
2. Online Accessibility: Promote accessible digital resources, websites, forms, guidance, and supporting materials.
3. Online Privacy & Cybersecurity: Expand services and resources that support safe and effective use and interaction with high-speed Internet.
4. Device Availability & Affordability: Broaden digital device availability through community anchor institutions (CAIs), community partners, and other funding programs.
5. Digital Literacy: Develop services and resources that support meaningful use of high-speed Internet.  

Together, these five strategies address both the material and immaterial factors that create barriers to broadband access in Florida. The strategies acknowledge that 1) access to a broadband connection is a necessary but not a sufficient condition to shrinking the digital divide and 2) digital devices, as well as the requisite skillsets to use the devices effectively, are also critical to connecting more Floridians to broadband Internet.  

Implementation of the plan is intertwined with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. For a fuller understanding of Florida’s broadband strategy, see Florida's Draft Initial Proposal.  

1. Broadband Availability & Affordability

Strategy #1—Identify un/underserved communities, promote the public and private funding mechanisms to increase service and affordability, and increase number of CAIs with access to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) connections

Objectives

• 1.1: Expand service to unserved and underserved locations
  • KPI – Percent of locations with broadband service
• 1.2: Increase participation in affordable Internet service plans
  • KPI – Percent eligible households enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)
• 1.3: Increase CAIs with gigabit connections
  • KPI – Percent CAIs with access to 1 Gbps upload speeds

Key Activities

• Connect currently unserved locations
• Upgrade currently underserved locations
• Increase gigabit broadband availability to CAIs
• Work with ISPs to offer low-cost broadband plans
• Promote use of existing affordable Internet mechanisms (e.g., ACP)
• Continue to build relationships with and engage Local Technology Planning Teams (LTPT)
• Develop an ongoing program to enhance the state broadband Internet dataset, leveraging other broadband Internet data resources including data collected by LTPTs and local and regional organizations
• Evaluate state and federal funding program requirements and determine the need for and best use of consultants to implement a grant-making process 

2. Online Accessibility 

Strategy #2—Promote accessible digital resources, websites, forms, guidance, and supporting materials 

Objectives

• 2.1: Increase multilingual and accessible technical support programming
  • KPI – Percent of English learners who lack digital skills  
• 2.2: Expand online accessibility of state government information
  • KPI – Number of state government home webpages that fail accessibility audit  

Key Activities

• Develop and maintain technical support for residents to support broad usage and access to state-run programs using online processes  
• Align efforts across state government to provide online information in a format that meets current accessibility standards
• Encourage ISPs and CAIs to develop similarly accessible content for their constituents 

3. Online Privacy & Cybersecurity 

Strategy #3—Expand services and resources that support safe and effective use and interaction with high-speed Internet 

Objectives

• 3.1: Expand online privacy and cybersecurity courses
  • KPI – Number of CAIs offering online privacy and cybersecurity courses
• 3.2: Increase protection of sensitive online information
  • KPI – TBD

Key Activities

• Develop cybersecurity and privacy skills curricula
• Encourage targeted training programs
• Cultivate and promote efforts by the private sector and community-based organizations to provide cybersecurity and privacy skills training and technical support to covered populations
• Assess the cybersecurity infrastructure of state government’s digital resources which store residents’ PPI, while coordinating with ISPs to protect their consumers’ sensitive information 

4. Device Availability & Affordability 

Strategy #4—Broaden digital device availability through CAIs and community partners and other funding programs 

Objectives

• 4.1: Increase device availability programming
  • KPI – Number of CAIs with device access and adoption programs
• 4.2: Increase outreach to promote affordable device availability programming
  • KPI – Percent of households that own a digital device (by covered population) 

Key Activities

• Explore expansion of device loan programs in CAIs and other organizations
• Increase CAI public device access points
• Encourage and promote private sector efforts to increase access to devices and/or lower costs of devices
• Support refurbishment programs to promote device ownership

5. Digital Literacy

Strategy #5—Expand digital literacy resources available via CAIs and community partners and other funding programs

Objectives

• 5.1: Increase digital literacy programs
  • KPI – Number of CAIs offering digital literacy programs
• 5.2: Expand digital navigator programming
  • KPI – Number of CAIs offering digital navigator services 

Key Activities

• Develop or identify digital skills curricula
• Encourage targeted training programs
• Cultivate and promote efforts by the private sector and community-based organizations to provide digital skills training and technical support to covered populations
• Identify opportunities to expand existing and new digital navigation services in Florida

FloridaCommerce Seeks Feedback

The public comment period for the Florida Digital Adoption and Use Plan began on December 8, 2023, and ends on Sunday, January 7, 2024. FloridaCommerce encourages community members to submit public comments on the plan by emailing Broadband@Commerce.fl.gov, or by mail to:
FloridaCommerce
Office of Broadband
The Caldwell Building
107 East Madison Street, MSC-400
Tallahassee, Florida 32399

For more info see https://www.floridajobs.org/news-center/DEO-Press/2023/12/08/floridacommerce-announces-30-day-public-comment-period-for-the-state-of-florida-s-digital-adoption-and-use-plan 

More in this series:

• Developing Digital Equity Solutions in Vermont
• Working Towards Digital Equity in DC
• Oregon's Plan for Meaningful Broadband Access
• Massachusetts' Unified Vision of Digital Equity
• Alaska's Plan to Address Broadband Adversity
• Georgia's Plan for Digital Connectivity
• In a New York State of Digital Equity
• A Plan for Digital Equity in Delaware
• Equity for the Digital Age: Maryland's Plan
• North Dakota's Collective Approach to Digital Equity
• A Plan for Connecting New Jersey
• Achieving a Digitally Inclusive Ohio
• A Digital Access Plan for All Idahoans
• Envisioning a Connected, Interconnected Alabama
• Missouri Pursues Sustainable Digital Opportunity Initiatives
• A Digital Equity Plan to Connect All Kansans
• South Dakota's Plan to Leverage Digital Equity to Reach Economic Goals
• Aloha Spirit Inspires Hawai'i Digital Equity Plan
• The Plan for Closing Nevada’s Digital Divide
• Wisconsin's Digital Equity Values
• ¡Su opinión cuenta! Puerto Rico Releases Initial Draft of Digital Equity Plan | ¡Su Opinión Cuenta! Puerto Rico Pública el Borrador Inicial del Plan de Equidad Digital
• Kentucky Pursues Full and Equitable Digital Access for All
• Tennessee Drafts a Digital Opportunity Plan
• Washington State Sets Digital Equity Goals
• West Virginia's Plan to Conquer the Digital Divide
• Rhode Island Works to Bring Broadband to All Residents
• Wyoming Seeks Feedback on Digital Access Plan
• Communities Know Communities Best: Michigan's Digital Equity Plan
• Montana's Digital Opportunity Plan
• Achieving Digital Independence in Utah
• Maine's Vision of Digital Equity
• A Look at Louisiana's Draft Digital Equity Plan

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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