Research
Looking Back, Looking Forward: What it will take to permanently close the K-12 digital divide
This is the third in our series of reports on the digital divide with Boston Consulting Group, and presents a clear roadmap for closing it once and for all. The report offers new and more granular detail on the root causes of the digital divide, cites work by many other groups in this field, and shows that previous COVID relief efforts have still left millions of kids caught in the gap and have funded mainly short-short-term solutions that are set to expire.
Indiana: 2019 State of Digital Inclusion
While digital inclusion can be framed as a social justice and equity issue, it can—and should—also be framed as a community and economic development issue. A digitally inclusive community or region ensures that all residents, organizations, and businesses can participate fully in an increasingly digitized community, society, and economy. This report will review a series of 2019 metrics to get a better idea of the state of digital inclusion in Indiana.
Aging Connected: Closing the Connectivity Gap for Older Americans
OATS, in partnership with the Humana Foundation, for the first time quantifies the size and degree of the digital isolation crisis among seniors in the United States, finding nearly 22 million older Americans continue to lack broadband access at home. Key findings:
Economic Study Documents $2.69 billion in Benefit from Chattanooga’s Community Fiber Optic Network
A new study conducted by Bento Lobo, Ph.D., head of the Department of Finance and Economics at the Rollins College of Business at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, documents $2.69 billion in community benefit during the first ten years since EPB of Chattanooga built Amerca's first Gig-speed community-wide network and used it to establish the nation’s most advanced smart grid power distribution system. Key Community Benefits from Chattanooga’s Advanced Infrastructure:
Public-private partnership for building a resilient broadband infrastructure in Puerto Rico
Exploring the use of an innovative approach to a public-private partnership (PPP) to spur the deployment of broadband and create more resilient telecommunications networks in Puerto Rico. Such a partnership is a critical ingredient of the plan for rebuilding the telecommunications sector of Puerto Rico after the island was devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. The proposed partnership also has the potential for enabling the expansion of citizen access to broadband services throughout Puerto Rico.
The State of Broadband in America, Q4 2020
In the fourth quarter of 2020, many broadband internet service providers introduced or expanded low-priced broadband plans, which the authors define as $60 or less per month, resulting in 70% of Americans having access to low-priced internet at speeds of 25 mbps download / 3 mbps upload and 30% at the higher threshold of 100 mbps download / 25 upload. Ninety-four ISPs added low-priced plans that were not available in Q3. National providers, such as CenturyLink and Xfinity were among them. Just 52% of Americans had access to low-priced plans in the fourth quarter of 2019.
2020 Universal Service Monitoring Report
This is the twenty-third report in a series prepared by federal and state staff members for the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. The findings are reported in seven sections: Section 1 of the report provides an update on industry revenues, universal service program funding requirements, and contribution factors. Sections 2 through 5 provide the latest data on the low-income, highcost, schools and libraries, and rural health care support mechanisms.
Disconnected in Maryland: Statewide Data Show the Racial and Economic Underpinnings of the Digital Divide
This report takes stock of digital inclusion in Maryland by examining two digital access tools that enable robust online access. The first is wireline high-speed internet subscriptions at home. The other is whether a household has a working desktop, laptop, or tablet computer. Analysis of household adoption for home wireline internet service and computing devices shows that:
Connecting the other half: Exploring options for the 50% of the population unconnected to the internet
As of the end of 2019, 46.4% of the world's population does not have regular access to the Internet. Bringing the more than 3.5 billion individuals still unconnected online is the primary goal for multiple international organizations, including the ITU and the UN Broadband Commission. Two important barriers that restrict connectivity are the lack of infrastructure and affordability.
Second Annual Report on the Status of Spectrum Repurposing
The United States continues to build on its 5G leadership and is critically focused on repurposing radiofrequency spectrum – especially through investment in America’s mid-band spectrum. Our country leads the world in availability of high- and low-band spectrum for commercial wireless services. Now, as this Report highlights, the United States is making tremendous strides in repurposing important mid-band spectrum.