Duluth News Tribune

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the importance of digital equity with the acceleration of digital transformation occurring in workplaces, education, and commerce. However, virtual as the new normal is exposing an age-based digital divide within our state of Minnesota. Older adults have lower access to the internet, fewer digital skills, and more limited use of technology. The digital divide contributes to increased social isolation, the severity of chronic diseases, and an overall diminished quality of life. The problem is worse in rural areas than metro areas.

Minnesota state regulators worry changes to Lifeline could disrupt discounts on phone and broadband service for some low-income Minnesotans. In an effort to crack down on fraud and abuse, the Federal Communications Commission has for several years been working to streamline Lifeline's application process. As the changes to Lifeline take effect in Minnesota, they have stoked fears that some of the program's subscribers will lose their discounts in the transition.

To accommodate a 21st-century workforce, we need to make sure we have 21st-century infrastructure. No serious infrastructure plan is complete without addressing broadband expansion. There is strong bipartisan support for including broadband funding in any infrastructure package, and that's good news. As we expand access to broadband, we must also do more to protect people's data online.

[Commentary] Like the running of electricity and phone lines to farms a century or more ago, connecting rural America to broadband and to reliable high-speed internet has become as basic and as necessary an undertaking as building passable highways and continuing to find clean water sources. Encouragingly in Minnesota, the push continues to push broadband deeper into our forests and farm.

Northland lawmakers recently announced a bill calling for another $100 million in spending for rural broadband projects statewide. Gov Mark Dayton (D-MN), in his state budget proposed $60 million over two years for rural broadband. Minnesotans deserve online access whether they live in urban or rural areas. However, while 97 percent of Twin Cities-urban Anoka County has high-speed internet access, only 44 percent of northern-rural Cook County does, as Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) pointed out. It's a disparity Minnesota lawmakers are chipping away at — and can continue to this session.