The Lewis Latimer Plan for Digital Equity and Inclusion

Ten years ago, the National Broadband Plan observed that as “more aspects of daily life move online and offline alternatives disappear, the range of choices available to people without broadband narrows. Digital exclusion compounds inequities for historically marginalized groups.” In light of these trends, that plan warned “the cost of digital exclusion is large and growing.” Unfortunately, only modest efforts to address those costs have been expended in the last decade. Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates a shift to “remote everything,” the costs of exclusion have grown even larger. The need for policymakers to act has become even more urgent, compelling us to ask, how can the tools of the information economy be employed to create a more equitable and inclusive society? The answer lies in accomplishing four big, but achievable, goals:

• Deploying networks everywhere.
• Getting everyone connected.
• Creating new economic opportunities to participate in the growth of the digital economy.
• Using the networks to improve how we deliver essential services, in particular in workforce development, health care and education.