Connecting the Pieces in Digital Equity

One out of four urban households do not have a wireline subscription or the infrastructure to support one, making the challenge of closing the digital divide no small matter. Achieving digital equity is going to take time, and efforts will be ongoing as technology evolves and household circumstances change. “Digital skills are one issue that will never go away,” said Angela Siefer, Executive Director, National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA). “We are always going to be addressing a digital divide because the technology is going to keep changing and how we use it is going to keep changing,” Siefer said. Connecting the pieces for digital equity of physical access, affordability, and education will require investment in local solutions for digital navigators and other tools and programs so the most at-risk populations get the assistance they need in the communities they are most comfortable in.