Urban Digital Divide Efforts

NATOA, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) recently made Community Broadband and Digital Equity Awards to three communities and recognized the strides the cities have made in tackling the digital divide. The City and County of San Francisco got an award for connecting public housing and other vulnerable neighborhoods to the City’s fiber network. Silicon Harlem got an award for bringing affordable broadband and resiliency to small businesses in Harlem. In partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Silicon Harlem launched RISE, a program that is bringing innovative technologies to small businesses. An award also went to SA Digital Connects, which is a collaboration between San Antonio and Bexar County. This collaboration has the goal of making sure that every household has safe and secure access to the Internet. Urban broadband issues are going to have to be solved one neighborhood at a time, and it’s awesome to see folks dedicated to making this happen. Here’s to hoping for the success of these specific projects, and I hope their efforts inspire others to tackle their own local problems.