Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Announces Marjorie & Charles Benton Opportunity Fund Fellowships Examining Barriers to Broadband

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society launched four new research projects to examine a variety of barriers to building and using broadband. Since the passing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, states have been working to achieve universal internet access through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and the Digital Equity Act (DEA) programs. Benton is supporting researchers who are investigating the complex challenges that stand in the way of universal, affordable, and equitable broadband access. Dr. Jesse Andrews, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will examine the relationship between inland flood risk and broadband access among households in vulnerable communities. Dr. Arpit Gupta of the University of California Santa Barbara and his team are addressing issues of broadband accountability through the Broadband Querying Tool (BQT), which extracts and analyzes data on broadband availability, speeds, affordability (ISP charges by speed tier), and adoption (active subscriptions) at the street-address level. Dr. Yeweon Kim from the University of Maryland will focus on CAIs across Maryland, assessing their potential and challenges as key players in advancing digital inclusion. Sara Raza from the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School will explore how policy and legal frameworks help—or hinder—efforts to close the broadband health gap, especially in rural areas.