What's wrong with LA's internet?

Over the last two years, in California and across the country, billions of public dollars have been allocated to end the digital divide. The Digital Equity LA coalition, supported by the California Community Foundation (CCF) Digital Equity Initiative, has mobilized to ensure these investments are directed to the communities that need them most—those that have been historically marginalized and are disproportionately disconnected—and deployed in support of the most effective long-term solutions. Low-income households, people of color, and immigrants are significantly more likely to be stranded on the wrong side of the digital divide than people living in wealthy, white neighborhoods. The most common reason disconnected people report for not having a fast and reliable connection is affordability; the price is too high, or the service they can afford isn’t fast or reliable enough to justify the expense. Digital Equity LA and the CCF Digital Equity Initiative set out in Slower and More Expensive: Sounding the Alarm - Disparities in Advertised Prices for Fast, Reliable Broadband to document what people are being asked to pay for home internet in diverse neighborhoods across Los Angeles County. The findings of the research echo concurrent national research released by The Markup: low-income communities and communities of color routinely are advertised internet service at higher prices and slower speeds than whiter and wealthier neighbors. These findings are sobering, raising significant red flags about the potential efficacy of current interventions to close the digital divide.

[Shayna Englin is the CEO of 42 Comms, a strategic advisory firm, and is the Director of the Digital Equity Initiative at the California Community Foundation.]