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The Emergency Connectivity Fund to subsidize broadband connectivity and devices for schools and libraries in response to the coronavirus pandemic will begin accepting applications for funding starting June 29.

The decades of US redlining represent a form of systematic racism that has denied generations of Black communities the kind of opportunities many other Americans enjoy, and the fear is it's happening again with broadband internet service. Big providers, when deciding where to invest the money to upgrade their networks, often focus on wealthier parts of cities and shun low-income communities. Fiber connections are expensive, and internet service providers are hesitant to expand unless they expect a return on their investment.

With broadband affordability especially high on the agenda following the pandemic, it could seem that Europe has all the answers. Yet Europe has its own struggles with digital divide, and it hasn't cracked the affordability problem across the board.

Microsoft said that it's expanding its Airband program, which was initially designed to connect rural areas, to eight cities: Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York, El Paso, Texas, and Memphis. Along with enabling inexpensive broadband, Microsoft will make devices more affordable by providing free and low-cost refurbished computers and tablets to communities of color through partners like PCs for People, Human-I-T and PlanITROI, a company whose Digital Dreams Project provides refurbished devices to K-12 students in need.

Federal and state governments have earmarked billions of dollars to build out fast internet service, but most plans don't address one of the biggest reasons people don't have broadband at home: They can't afford to pay for service. If the early days of the Emergency Broadband Benefit program are any indication, there is big demand for a more substantial subsidy. In the first week of the program, more than 1 million households signed up. Some civil rights and consumer groups are joining with the broadband industry to push Congress to make the broadband subsidy permanent.

Beyond supporting students, information being collected by schools across the country could prove useful when addressing the problem of the digital divide. The work to close the so-called homework gap, exacerbated when the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools and forced 50 million students to suddenly adopt remote learning, could also provide the federal and state governments a roadmap toward fixing the broader digital divide problem. The homework gap is a subset of a much larger d

The digital divide and the homework gap haven't gone away, even with new attention and funding directed toward emergency relief.