New analysis of government data by Benton Senior Fellow John Horrigan shows that the U.S. is making progress closing the digital divide. Recently released data from the American Community Survey shows wireline broadband adoption grew by 4.7 points between 2019 and 2021, more than twice the 2.0 points of growth between 2017 and 2019.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers and community leaders around the country created programs to connect those without home broadband service or computers. Most notably, Congress created first the Emergency Broadband Benefit and then the Affordable Connectivity Program to reduce monthly internet access service bills for low-income people. These programs have had a positive impact—especially in cities with higher-than-average rates of poverty. And progress on home broadband adoption has been greatest among America’s least wired cities.

"To see changes in key metrics on connectivity in light of initiatives launched during the pandemic is encouraging," said Horrigan. "It signals to policymakers that efforts to tackle digital inequities can succeed and that they should make plans to sustain these gains."

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society today published Broadband Benefit Programs are Helping to Close the Digital Divide. The research includes four lessons for state and local policymakers as they plan for broadband network and digital equity funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Mignon Clyburn, a member of the Benton Institute Board of Directors and a former chair of the Federal Communications Commission said, "John Horrigan’s research obliterates any doubt regarding the need to permanently fund the Affordable Connectivity Program. The results of this research and the lessons proffered are not mere statistical recitations, but a validating treatise on providing boundless opportunities when it comes to healthcare access, educational pursuits, economic empowerment, and more. This is why we fight to close the digital divide, and this is why we must continue the fight to permanently fund the Affordable Connectivity Program and modernize the FCC's Lifeline program.”

John Horrigan is a national expert on technology adoption, digital inclusion, and evaluating the outcomes and impacts of programs designed to promote communications technology adoption and use. He served at the Federal Communications Commission as a member of the leadership team for the development of the National Broadband Plan. Additionally, as an Associate Director for Research at the Pew Research Center, he focused on libraries and their impact on communities, as well as technology adoption patterns and open government data. 

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.

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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