With significant funds being allocated by federal and state governments, the requisite attention and resources may finally be lining up to make big headway in narrowing the digital divide. However, the focus must shift to expanding broadband access in the fastest and most efficient way. Leveraging extensive data sets from private, public and nonprofit sources and applying artificial intelligence capabilities can provide insights from the largest lens down to a microscopic view of state, county and census block groups. This type of powerful analysis can show how certain decisions would impact revenue and sustainability, allowing states to see the impact of changing various inputs to help not only make the right decisions but also measure success moving forward. The states and carriers that adopt this type of rigorous data-centric approach will be the fastest and most efficient at deploying and operating broadband networks and promoting services newly available to these communities.

[Peters Suh is Accenture North America Communications & Media industry lead and Ryan Oakes is Accenture Global Public Service industry lead.]

Even with Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds, the federal government will once again fail to address digital disparities without a clear definition of the problems being solved and a lack of substantive feedback from local stakeholders who understand the conditions of their communities. Part of this failure rests on the reliance of policymakers on regulatory guidance from communications policies drafted before the contemporary internet, and their sole focus on accelerating broadband access instead of economic mobility and social justice for the digitally disenfranchised. If prior policies worked well to close the digital divide, we would not be racing to the bottom to ensure equitable access. Getting people connected to affordable broadband and a device are only partial solutions to narrowing the digital divide. We often forget that people still need the required financial collateral like a bank or credit card to take advantage of now-digitized services like ridesharing and e-commerce. The severity of the digital divide goes beyond the usual analogy of a three-legged stool—broadband availability, affordability, and digital literacy. Policymakers must acknowledge that efforts to close the digital divide should also address poverty, geographic, and social isolation. 

[Dr. Nicol Turner Lee is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution]

The Federal Communications Commission is considering putting new restrictions on wireless use of C-Band spectrum, including a nationwide power reduction, as the Biden Administration works on how best to free up that spectrum for 5G without risking interference to critical aviation communications. Wireless deployments in the band were delayed from fall 2021 given concerns by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but are now scheduled to launch January 5, 2022. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that the agency is taking the concerns laid out in a report submitted by Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) about C-Band usage "very seriously," serious enough to open a proceeding to review the findings and whether any changes need to be made to the C-Band rules. She also said that, "out of an abundance of caution," the FCC, as part of ongoing discussions with the FAA, is considering a number of potential new interference mitigation strategies, including creating exclusion zones around airports and helipads, reducing power nationwide, and limiting "skyward" transmissions.

Broadband efforts in Colorado remain a high priority, with Brandy Reitter to serve as the new executive director of the Colorado Broadband Office. Reitter, who has been serving in local government for the last 15 years, will begin her new role at the Colorado Broadband Office in February 2022, replacing Julia Richman, who serves as deputy executive director of the Office of Information Technology (OIT). Reitter will lead the state’s broadband strategy during a time of robust advancement and development of Internet connectivity, particularly for rural areas. “It’s an exciting time for broadband expansion as the state acquires new tools and resources in bridging the digital divide,” said Anthony Neal-Graves, Colorado's CIO and executive director of the OIT. “Brandy knows how to collaboratively address the obstacles our rural communities encounter, and with her passion for developing creative solutions, is well suited to take advantage of the immense potential this wave of funding creates."