Devices

More than ever, services and businesses from banks to doctors' offices and restaurants to airlines expect users to have access to smartphones — but many older people still lack digital skills, and products don't always take their needs into account. A December 2021 survey conducted by AARP found that three in four people over the age of 50 say they rely on technology to stay connected, but 42% of them say that technology is not designed for all ages.

New York City (NY) will begin the citywide launch of ‘Big Apple Connect’ — a landmark digital equity program that will make free high-speed internet and basic cable TV available to approximately 300,000 New Yorkers living in more than 200 New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments by the end of 2023.

Incarcerated people often have limited access to technology and pay exorbitant rates for even basic communication tools, like phones. The Last Mile, a nonprofit organization established more than a decade ago to teach entrepreneurial skills to those in correctional facilities, pivoted to web development classes in 2014 because it found those skills were most effective in helping people find jobs after their release.

The educational opportunities that local community anchor institutions have to offer are transformational for students and their families. In Huntsville, Alabama, Drake State Community and Technical College is empowering students to train for and enter science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers.

American government civic leaders continue to prioritize digital inclusion and digital equity. In Boston (MA), elected officials, and tech leaders are collaborating to expand the scope of digital equity by making sure all residents have high-speed Internet, devices, and digital skills training. Additionally, Boston has a new focus; specifically, the City has broadened the scope of the work to also include looking at how technology can ease barriers toward equity for different groups.

T-Mobile and Starlink made a joint announcement recently about an arrangement where Starlink will enable voice and texting capabilities to T-Mobile cellphones by the end of 2023. Elon Musk touted this as being able to reach people lost in the wilderness, but the much bigger use will be to fill in cellular coverage in rural areas for T-Mobile. While the two companies made a big splashy announcement about the arrangement, they are late to the game as other industry players already have similar plans underway.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is committing over $81 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Program (ECP), which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.

Seattle residents don’t have to be at a Seattle Public Library (SPL) branch to use the internet.

The St. Louis Public Library is adding 8,000 hotspots and 1,500 Chromebooks for city patrons who don't have internet or computer access at home. Residents can check out these devices for free for more than a year. Money for the library's total 17,500-device program comes from the federal Emergency Connectivity Fund. Through an earlier allocation by the fund, the library had already bought and loaned 4,000 Chromebooks and 4,000 hotspots. Because of the new funding, due dates for those devices have also been extended until Sept. 30, 2023.

The City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (PA), and Computer Reach successfully donated 324 desktop computers, 74 laptop computers, 427 monitors, 243 keyboards, and 170 mice to Computer Reach. This first donation, totaling $92,000 and completed in early August 2022, is the culmination of multiple years of work by the Department of Innovation & Performance (I&P) to give back these devices to the community and avoid paying an e-waste recycler for proper disposal.