Could New York’s Plan to Erase Its Digital Divide Work for America?

New York is moving aggressively under Gov Andrew Cuomo’s (D-NY) “Broadband for All” initiative to connect all its residents by 2018.

New York’s efforts highlight the need for similar action on a national scale. Across the country, 12.6 million American households don’t have access to broadband (the Federal Communications Commission defines “broadband” as a download speed of 25 megabits per second and an upload speed of three megabits per second). Perhaps the bigger problem than expanding infrastructure, though, is the regular cost of an Internet plan. Internet access in America is much more expensive than it is in many other countries, and people with lower incomes are far less likely to be connected. Even New York’s initiative, which mandates that a 100-megabit-per-second connection be made available for $60 a month, is likely to mean that high-speed access remains functionally out of reach for many people. So while the blueprints for a more connected country may be laid before us, there remains a long way to go before the digital divide is closed.