FCC Commissioner Starks on COVID-19 and the Digital Divide

On April 7, the Joint Center convened a panel of experts and key stakeholders for an online policy forum with Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks to discuss the concept of a “connectivity stimulus” to ensure that people in all communities in the United States are connected and have access to online education and economic opportunities during and following the COVID-19 crisis. Areas discussed: 1) the need for a connectivity stimulus for COVID-19 relief, 2) the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has on Black communities, and 3) necessary priorities that address the digital divide. Commissioner Starks has called for a broadband stimulus focusing on reaching Americans on the wrong side of the digital divide (e.g., low-income families, K-12 children, rural Black communities).