Broadband equity means access and adoption, not just infrastructure rollouts

If governments are to truly close the digital divide, they must focus on encouraging community broadband adoption and making sure residents have tools to access high-speed internet, not just on installing infrastructure. While there has been a lot of recent talk about the need to better map broadband availability, panelists at Nextgov and GCN’s Emerging Tech Summit warned that there must also be a similar emphasis on ensuring that people can take advantage of internet access, or else some communities will not feel the benefits. And while investing in new broadband networks is a tangible way for communities to show they are closing the digital divide, adoption among residents remains a major barrier. Next Century Cities Executive Director Francella Ochillo said that challenge stems largely from the way internet buildout has been funded in this country. Most investment is spent on physical infrastructure and very little on encouraging adoption, building digital skills and offering robust subsidies on monthly bills to those who need them. “It's not enough to hope your state has enough tax revenue to be able to carve out money in some state bill that is assigned to helping improve adoption for a very small portion of the population,” Ochillo said. “We know that millions of Americans, even people who are the working poor, who do not qualify for government programs, do not have the tools that they need to actually experience digital citizenship and benefit from technology.”