The Emergency Broadband Benefit cannot be overlooked

Baltimore City has a digital divide. COVID didn’t create this; rather, our digital divide is an outgrowth of pre-existing disparities, exacerbated by a global pandemic. The result is that Black and Latinx communities in our city are disproportionately harmed by both the COVID-19 virus and the economic recession. Recovery for Baltimore will be hard; but it will be outright impossible to “Build Back Better” unless we address the racial impact of the digital divide. This is why the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) is critical. The Federal Communications Commission program provides discounted broadband and connected devices for low-income consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a part of the pandemic recovery plan, the Consolidated Appropriations Act established an Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund of $3.2 billion in the US Treasury for the fiscal year 2021, in order to provide eligible low-income households a discount on the cost of broadband service and certain connected devices during the emergency period relating to the pandemic. The opportunity is here, and we can’t pass it by. Let’s marshal a Baltimore Digital Equity Brigade that can help to connect households to the internet, and take a first step towards statewide economic revitalization.

[Robert W. Deutsch Foundation President Jane Brown and Vice President amalia deloney]