Neighborhood broadband data makes it clear: We need an agenda to fight digital poverty

The digital gap between urban and rural parts of the country tends to garner the most attention. However, our analysis of the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) data tells another story: The majority of digitally disconnected households live in metropolitan areas, and the gaps are especially large when comparing neighborhoods within the same place. Effectively, some residents live in digital poverty even as their neighbors thrive. Until metropolitan leaders and their state and federal partners can address the situation, we can expect a kind of digital segregation to persist across metropolitan America. 

From dense urban cities to emerging exurban counties, 13.9 million metropolitan households live without an in-home or wireless broadband subscription, according to 1-year ACS estimates. That’s more than triple the 4.5 million rural households without a broadband subscription. Local leaders, plus their state and federal peers, need a new agenda focused on comprehensive digital equity. That should include:

• Expanding digital equity tracking, to objectively understand where network and adoption gaps exist and easily communicate the results to policymakers.
• Building networks of local champions, ensuring community advocates, government officials, and private network providers share intelligence, debate priorities, and deploy new programming.
• Funding digital equity programs, including a mix of device subsidies, digital skills curricula, and means-tested subscription benefits.