Research

This survey shows that despite ongoing challenges of serving the most sparsely populated parts of the country and notwithstanding pandemic-related supply chain concerns, rural broadband providers have continued to increase broadband speeds available to rural Americans by offering more fiber-to-the-home services than ever before. Survey highlights include: 

Congress has made unprecedented federal investments in broadband infrastructure and digital equity. This moment is not just about installing conduit under streets and fiber on poles — it is about achieving and ensuring digital equity for our country as a whole. Conversations with Municipal Leaders: Digital Equity in Cities, a report by the National League of Cities, captures the combined perspectives and experiences of 22 US cities, towns and villages working to achieve digital equity.

From April 2020 to May 2021, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), a Michelson Spark Grantee, studied the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on digital inequity, particularly among school-age children in California. Researchers leveraged 2019 census data from over 35,000 households in California to establish the pre-COVID baseline as they considered how ethnic groups, income levels, educational attainment, and locality impacted device access and connectivity.

Millions of people across the country still lack sufficient access to broadband service, largely because they live in rural communities, which are the most difficult and expensive to serve. The challenges of deploying broadband network infrastructure in rural locations, particularly low population density and difficult terrain, create high costs and low returns on investment that discourage providers from expanding into those areas. As of fall 2021, 44 states had established grant programs to cover the costs of broadband deployment in areas where it would otherwise not be economically feasi

The National League of Cities (NLC) released a new report titled, “A Digital Equity Playbook: How City Leaders Can Bridge the Digital Divide,” which calls on local leaders to take action to equip people across the country with the high-speed internet access they need to fully participate in modern society.

The federal government launched the Emergency Broadband Benefit in February 2021 to provide low-income households with a $50 monthly discount on their internet bill as part of a multi-pronged approach to reduce the digital divide, which is a function of both access to a wired high-speed internet service provider and the affordability of service. According to the Universal Service Administrative Company, enrollment in the Emergency Broadband Benefit reached 7.1 million households in November 2021 (up from 6.1 million in October).

Philadelphia’s Digital Literacy Alliance launched a pilot project in 2020 to create a Digital Navigator program in Philadelphia (PA). Digital navigators are trusted guides who assist community members in internet adoption and the use of computing devices. Digital navigation services include ongoing assistance with affordable internet access, device acquisition, technical skills, and application support.

Shining a light on failed antitrust policy through a review of five mega mergers in the media and telecommunications industry: Comcast and NBCUniversal; AT&T and DirecTV; AT&T and Time Warner; Charter, Time Warner Cable and Bright House; and Disney and Fox. Each case study details the history and aftermath of these mergers, contrasting the companies’ promises of consumer benefits and pro-competitive outcomes with the post-merger realities, including higher prices, reduced choices, and harms to writers.

This paper is designed as a guide for philanthropic organizations interested in narrowing the digital divide, or the gap between those with internet access and those without, in rural communities. Philanthropy’s role in this space is not always clear. Broadband expansion is technically complex, extremely expensive, and often viewed as the domain of government and/or internet service providers.