Research

Community networks risk failure when they attempt to emulate models from elsewhere without engaging the community in the process and making appropriate adaptations. These ‘build it and they will come’ models rarely work over the long term. This research project explored claims from residents of a low-income neighbourhood in the “North End” of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada, that inadequate and unaffordable Internet connectivity limits their access to critical communication tools, resources, and information.

The Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, enrolled more Americans than any previous broadband affordability program in the United States. Despite that success, the ACP faced substantial criticism from conservative members of Congress who saw it as giving away taxpayer dollars to many households that don’t actually need help affording their internet bill. The question going forward is not if the government will subsidize broadband service for Americans, but how. This paper attempts to inform that debate by examining four specific critiques of the ACP:

As broadband expansion efforts in the U.S. continue with historic investments, consumer demand for residential broadband services is of first-order importance. Several past broadband willingness to pay studies estimate the value of broadband to be low, compared to the current national average cost of internet subscriptions being around $65 per month.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is one of several US federal and state government programs that seek to bridge the so-called “digital divide” through targeted consumer subsidies and support for infrastructure rollout. Though these subsidy programs aim to improve vital broadband and telecommunications access to low-income households, their uptake has varied across US states and counties. This fits the pattern of low participation rates in other means-tested broadband subsidy programs such as Lifeline and Linkup.

A new Pew Research Center analysis of the accounts Americans follow on TikTok highlights the centrality of internet-native content creators, prominent influencers and traditional celebrities on the popular short-form video platform.

Nonprofits are stepping up as leaders in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, with 58 percent using AI in their digital communications—surpassing the 47 percent of B2C businesses. From local groups to major healthcare and educational institutions, nonprofits are leveraging AI to better understand and engage with their audiences. In this new era of digital engagement, it’s not just about the tools; it’s about creating personalized, meaningful connections with beneficiaries, patients, students, and program participants.

The Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a means-tested federal program launched in January 2022 to support broadband connectivity among low-income households in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The expiration of the ACP benefit, the largest ever consumer support program for telecommunication services in U.S. history, invites a discussion about the impact of the program and what alternative policy mechanisms exist to promote equitable access to broadband.

Broadband access is increasingly recognized as essential infrastructure in today’s economy, with the ability to connect residents and businesses to economic opportunities nationwide, even in remote rural areas. However, rural America has lagged behind metropolitan areas in broadband investment, exacerbating economic disparities between rural and nonrural America. The lack of connectivity has hindered rural communities’ ability to participate in the 21st-century digital economy, especially with the rise of the knowledge economy.

Affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband is considered a necessity in the U.S.

Information Technology is important in daily life, especially was in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research moves in this direction, studying the evolution of the Internet use in Italy. In order to analyse the diffusion of the Internet and internal digital divide, the number of “.it “domain names were used as an indicator.