Adoption

Widespread internet access is changing the African continent, largely thanks to the rise in smartphone ownership. Many Africans who are unable to afford costly broadband connections can now access the web for the first time, via sub-$50 Android phones.

When we say “accessibility,” many of us think about adding keyboard navigation, high color contrast, and alt text to a website. But the reality is, even with accessibility features, your website is still inaccessible to millions who don’t have internet access or training to use a computer. The digital divide remains – 15 million Americans don’t have a computer and 24 million don’t have broadband.

The 2020 Census is different from past surveys in two important ways.

Recent research from the North Carolina Department of Information Technology found that one in every 10 students lacks internet access at home, which makes it hard for them to complete homework assignments outside of school. "If we have a cohort of 10 to 15 percent of students who are in the homework gap now, then how will those students be able to compete in a digital economy in 10 or 15 years?" asked Amy Huffman, a research policy specialist for the NC Broadband Infrastructure office. The state is stepping in with a response to this problem that could eventually close the gap.

While some may be preoccupied with the Save the Internet Act (the net neutrality legislation), it’s not the only broadband bill in town. Here are a few more broadband-related bills to keep an eye on. The ACCESS BROADBAND Act. The Digital Equity Act of 2019. The Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband Act. The Internet Exchange (IX) Act. The RURAL Act

Even as many aspects of the digital divide have narrowed over time, the digital lives of lower- and higher-income Americans remain markedly different. 

On April 30, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled A Case for Rural Broadband: Insights on Rural Broadband Infrastructure and Next Generation Precision Agriculture Technologies.This latest chapter in the Trump Administration’s American Broadband Initiative finds that the deployment of broadband networks and adoption of new agricultural technologies could result in approximately $47–$65 billion annually in additional gross benefit for the US economy. Until now, the interdependency between broadband and next-generation precision agriculture technologies has not been evaluated.

What is the internet? And who is an internet user? The questions may seem straightforward, but more than a decade of research in the United States and abroad suggests that some people who use the internet may not be aware that they’re doing so. Results from recent Pew Research Center surveys in the US and 11 emerging economies show that confusion about what the internet stems from two different – but related – sources. First, many people who use smartphones are unaware that the apps and browsers on their devices involve using the internet.

At least 100,000 San Francisco residents lack adequate Internet access and miss out on economic and educational benefits. A new model -- developed by Monkeybrains, a local Internet service provider (ISP), and the city of San Francisco -- successfully bridges this digital divide for public housing residents. Thanks to low start-up and maintenance costs, the solution will be financially self-sustaining for years to come. If you want to get a program like this going in your city, here are key points:

A compilation of research, interviews, and analysis aims to show that while the worldwide consequences of getting things wrong with the internet could be huge – for peace and security, for political and individual freedoms, for human equality – the problems are never so great that nothing can be done. This annual report is a call to action to recognize the things that are having an impact on the internet today through research and analysis, and to embrace the notion that we as humans can change how we make money, govern societies, and interact with one another online. This report is structu