America's surprising breeding ground for inequality: The internet

Life has moved online during the coronavirus pandemic, and access to the internet has shone a new light on America's inequality crisis. Nearly 15% of American households do not have a home internet subscription, including dial-up, broadband or a cellular data plan, according to US Census estimates from 2018. For low-income earners, that percentage is more than double the national average. "It took this pandemic for people to realize that tens of millions of people don't have [an] internet connection," said Gigi Sohn, distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law and Policy and Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate. Experts say further investments in internet infrastructure and federal funding programs are needed to change the structural failures that created the current inequality. The pandemic is an opportunity for policymakers and the industry to push longer-term fixes, said Jonathan Spalter, CEO of industry trade group USTelecom. "I don't think there's ever been a time where all parties, all political perspectives, have been so aligned in understanding the truly critical role that broadband is playing for all Americans today," Spalter said.