Deep disparities in internet access found across Chicago in new analysis

A new analysis by the University of Chicago has revealed vast differences in internet connectivity across Chicago (IL), with some neighborhoods reporting more than one-third of households offline. Researchers are now working to collect their own data to determine how the internet performs across neighborhoods, with the hope of influencing how $65 billion in federal funds to expand broadband access is distributed. Across the city about 80 percent of households have internet access, but researchers with the university’s Internet Equity Initiative found a nearly 40 percentage-point difference in connectivity levels between certain neighborhoods. In the most connected area, the Loop, more than 97 percent of households have internet access. That’s followed by Lake View and the Near North and South sides at 94 percent. But in Burnside that number is under 58 percent, and in West Englewood, less than 62 percent. Now that researchers have determined access is not uniform across the city, they can dig deeper into discrepancies in speed, performance and infrastructure, said Nick Feamster, faculty director of research at the Data Science Institute and a principal investigator of the Internet Equity Initiative. “Given better answers to all of those sub-questions we can then start to think about solutions and investment, … really trying to go hyper-local,” Feamster said. “Because the problem, although it’s popular to talk about as a national problem, is really a local problem. It varies so much across the city, and there is no data on that until now.” For the next step of the study, researchers will work with volunteers in 75 households and across 30 community areas, with a particular focus on Logan Square and South Shore.