Government Technology

While the progress of digital equity varies by state, the remaining gaps have been brought to the forefront during the pandemic. In Southern California, Los Angeles officials have worked to implement programs and partnerships to increase access to digital devices and services as well as increasing digital literacy — a fundamental component to digital equity. Jeramy Gray, the county of Los Angeles’ chief deputy at the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, said the challenge is not only to provide access to an Internet-connected device but also to enable individuals to use the devices to improve t

Many people with Internet problems are wondering how much of a dent the infrastructure bill's $65 billion for broadband will put into the digital divide. The bill's broadband section features $42 billion in grants to states for broadband infrastructure and about $14 billion to extend the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) for low-income citizens.

The Federal Communications Commission and the US Treasury Department are giving schools a tremendous opportunity to close both the homework gap and the healthcare gap.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced the creation of a Broadband Development Office (BDO), which will award grants and loans and provide other incentives in the interest of expanding access to broadband in underserved areas.

The southwest corner of New Hampshire will be blanketed with fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks over the next two years, as 16 communities are drawing up plans to enter into public-private partnerships to boost high-speed Internet access in the state. According to New Hampshire’s Southwest Region Planning Commission (SWRPC), six more cities have also issued warrant articles indicating their interest in partnering with a private In

With federal broadband infrastructure spending now in play, public officials now must turn their attention to how best to bring high-speed Internet service to those trapped on the wrong side of the digital divide. Partnering with higher education can be a major part of the solution. Partnering with higher ed makes good sense. States and local governments do not have the time, personnel, or expertise to successfully implement such a far-reaching initiative.

As local areas and states keep slugging away at the digital divide, time and money may separate the winners from the losers in the broadband infrastructure game. One potential way to save time and money is through a “dig-once” approach, which refers to the idea of minimizing the number and scale of excavations when installing telecommunications infrastructure in highway rights-of-way. If a dig-once policy can make so much sense, why isn’t everyone doing it?