Adoption

The digital divide is a complicated technical and political policy issue in the U.S., with unique urban and rural challenges. Some 2020 candidates are recognizing the importance of the issue and spreading awareness. But if we’re seeking to bring affordable, high-capacity broadband to all people in the U.S., both access and adoption challenges need to be addressed. And policymakers must take into account the role competition must play in these two challenges.

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance and the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program have partnered to create the Broadband Research Base, a searchable collection of reports, studies and journal articles that address the impact of broadband and digital inclusion on community and individual well-being. Has anybody studied the impact of broadband availability, speed or adoption on local economic growth? On K-12 education? On health care?

Seattle’s (WA) Technology Matching Fund is now open for applications from community and nonprofit groups for grants of up to $50,000 in service of work that improves digital equity. The city is seeking “applications for projects that increase access to free or low-cost broadband, empower residents with digital literacy skills, and ensure affordable, available and sufficient devices and technical support,” officials announced.

With communities all across the country exploring ways to overcome the digital divide, and with Congress sending clear signals about the importance to address rural disconnect, now is an opportune time to help policymakers and practitioners understand the benefits of pursuing new infrastructure, public policies, and training programs. For us, that process begins with understanding where the current state of knowledge is clear and where it falls short.

The digital divide – the “haves” and “have nots” when it comes to internet access and use – is an abiding concern for telecommunication and internet policymakers at all levels of government. The Federal Communications Commission’s focus on deployment means policymakers miss an entirely different dimension of the problem – broadband adoption. Ensuring the ubiquity of high-speed networks is a laudable goal. But if a lot of people are not subscribing even when networks pass their residences, that’s a different problem. Analysis of broadband adoption data shows that:

Measuring broadband is an ongoing challenge for policymakers and, for many participants in broadband policy debates, often a source of frustration. The frustration about broadband measurement emanates from what seems knowable – at least it is about other infrastructure. We know where our roads and highways run. Today it is easy to know when they are clogged, where there are tolls, and how much those tolls cost. Electric infrastructure is essentially ubiquitous and it isn’t hard, in most places, to find out the cost of a kilowatt hour and compare prices among providers.

Not so long ago, “closing the digital divide” primarily meant getting people online, and a steady upward trend in adoption is evidence of progress on that front. Yet gaps in broadband adoption remain – particularly for low-income households – and closing those gaps is about more than simply offering a low-cost internet service. Even with the availability of low-cost offers, it remains a challenge to encourage the remaining disconnected people to sign up for broadband service.

I’m pleased to see the expansion of the Internet Essentials program throughout the Comcast footprint to include low-income households that receive government assistance like SNAP, Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). But a good program doesn’t execute itself. Community problems require community solutions. That’s why I’m also happy to see the list of 10,000 non-profit partners enlisted to help with outreach and training on Internet Essentials throughout the country. Access to the internet impacts almost every social, political, and economic facet of our lives.

I will make sure every home in America has a fiber broadband connection at a price families can afford. That means publicly-owned and operated networks — and no giant Internet service providers running away with taxpayer dollars. My plan will:

Comcast announced it is significantly expanding eligibility for its broadband adoption program Internet Essentials to include all qualified low-income households in its service area. Comcast estimates that more than three million additional low-income households, including households with people with disabilities, are now eligible to apply. It estimates a total of nearly seven million households now have access to low-cost Internet service, which literally doubles the total number of previously eligible households.