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Research already shows that existing disparities related to broadband access are not race-neutral. Logically, that means that the analysis of these disparities should also not be race-neutral. Demographic data on broadband deployment is a win-win and will help industry, policy makers, public interest groups, and civil rights organizations create policy solutions that address the digital divide among varied racial groups in rural communities.

Here's five important trends that are driving broadband access and digital inclusion in the United States. Underlying these trends is the drive to streamline regulation and create the incentive for broadband infrastructure investment.

The Web Foundation is working on an analysis of United Nations data that shows the growth of internet access around the world has slowed dramatically. The striking trend shows the rate at which the world is getting online has fallen sharply since 2015, with women and the rural poor substantially excluded from education, business, and other opportunities the internet can provide. The data shows that growth in global internet access dropped from 19% in 2007 to less than 6% in 2017.

Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced dramatic gains in internet use in recent years. With this rapid growth in connectivity have come a host of potential problems, including fake news, political targeting and manipulation and financial scams, among others. Yet according to a new Pew Research Center analysis, most sub-Saharan Africans feel positively about the role the internet plays in their country.

This guidebook has a twofold purpose. It is a practical guide for digital inclusion practitioners -- local community-based organizations, libraries, housing authorities, government agencies, and others working directly with community members in need of affordable home broadband service. This guidebook also contains recommendations for policymakers and internet service providers to improve current offers and establish new offers.

The Cleveland Foundation just announced $488,000 in grants that encourage digital inclusion — a multi-faceted initiative to get everyone connected, “until we get to a point that the internet access is treated more like a utility, no different than electricity. Until it’s in every home,” said Leon Wilson, chief of digital innovation at the Cleveland Foundation. The first part of the initiative is a partnership with the Cleveland Public Library and Cuyahoga County Library systems.

A growing number of US households are exclusively accessing the internet via smartphones, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center. While much of the discussion about cord cutting in the US is focused on households that are canceling cable or satellite TV services, this latest finding indicates the trend is now expanding into broadband services.

Over the past four years, the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) has asked households whether they have access to the Internet “using a broadband (high speed) Internet service such as cable, fiber optic, or DSL service…” The answers reveal where subscriptions are ticking up and where gaps persist.

The use of digital technology has had a long stretch of rapid growth in the United States, but the share of Americans who go online, use social media or own key devices has remained stable the past two years, according to a new analysis of Pew Research Center data. The shares of US adults who say they use the internet, use social media, own a smartphone or own a tablet computer are all nearly identical to the shares who said so in 2016.