Research

This study documents the rise of competitive broadband service in Boston; describes steadily increasing City efforts to close gaps in broadband affordability, devices, and skills; characterizes the remaining gaps in these areas as defined by stakeholders and available data; and makes nearterm policy recommendations to address these gaps in light of current federal funding opportunities.

The results of a spring 2022 survey of 820 US undergraduate students, across four key areas: Technology Challenges and Solutions, Modality Preferences, Access to Educational Technology, and Student Success. Key findings from the research report include:

The Southern Rural Development Center in partnership with the Purdue Center for Regional Development received funding from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to document digital exclusion among disadvantaged groups in the South, gauge the digital inclusion capacity of Cooperative Extension personnel, and design and implement programs and resources to tackle digital exclusion. As part of this effort, a survey was conducted to better understand the depth and breadth of digital exclusion among disadvantaged groups in the South.

This study examines the relationship between broadband adoption and county-level educational achievement in the US in which a novel measure of home broadband subscriptions to explore longitudinal community impacts of broadband adoption on aggregated standardized test scores in math and reading/language arts for students enrolled in 3rd-8th grades. A panel was created of US counties and measured the effect of broadband adoption on student educational achievement by estimating a fixed effect estimator. Key highlights from the research showed the following:

In this paper, we construct a network cost model to understand the rationality of common requirements on the number and location of interconnection points. We also wish to understand if it is rational to apply these requirements to interconnection between an internet service provider (ISP) and a content delivery network (CDN). We construct a model of ISP traffic-sensitive network costs. We consider an ISP that offers service across the US. We parameterize the model using statistics about the population and locations of people in the contiguous US.

In a 2021 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that some small businesses lack access to broadband, but may benefit from federal programs that fund deployment in rural areas. Small businesses can likely reap the benefits of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) and the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Utilities Service's (RUS) funding to expand broadband deployment.

To ensure all learners have equitable access to reliable, high-speed broadband and technology tools for learning, we must consider the three components of access—availability, affordability, and adoption. The purpose of this guidance resource is to support leaders in developing effective digital equity plans in these ways:  Exploring the three components of access—availability, affordability, and adoption; Highlighting existing barriers to achieving digital equity; Providing promising strategies to overcome these barriers; Identifying key action steps for leaders. The U.S.

Across the world, a growing number of community networks, municipal networks, and social enterprises are successfully connecting those who have historically been unserved or underserved by traditional internet service providers. This report analyzes the operating models and financing mechanisms that can support the success of these community connectivity providers (CCPs). It is designed to help those who build and fund broadband infrastructure to identify and support sustainable solutions that can expand connectivity and accelerate digital equity. The report explores:

In an effort to expand Internet access, local and federal policymakers have sought to use speed test data to determine where to allocate funding.

This research characterizes the state of Internet equity in Chicago (IL), focusing on different dimensions of Internet equity, including availability, affordability, and adoption. To this end, we combine multiple existing datasets to understand the digital divide in Chicago and the contributing factors. Our findings show a disparity in broadband adoption rates across neighborhoods in Chicago: Broadband adoption varies between 58--93% across community areas, with low access areas mostly concentrated in South and West Chicago.