Digital Literacy

The City of Cleveland (OH) is moving forward with Mayor Justin Bibb’s $20 million plan to expand broadband throughout the city. The revised plan would allocate $20 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to local nonprofit DigitalC to expand affordable broadband.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) released the draft Wisconsin Digital Equity Plan for public comment. Once approved by the PSC, the Digital Equity Plan will guide the state’s strategy to improve digital equity, ensuring all in Wisconsin have the skills, devices, and broadband service necessary to fully participate in society and the economy. After the public comment period, the PSC will review the public comments and finalize the plan during an open meeting for submission to the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA).

The Illinois Broadband Lab launched a statewide cohort of digital navigator fellows to plan and coordinate digital equity programs at the local level.

Charter Communications awarded $1.1 million to 46 nonprofit organizations through its Spectrum Digital Education grant program. Charter has committed more than $9 million total to the initiative, which supports broadband technology programs, education, and training in unserved and underserved communities throughout Charter’s service area.

The Washington State Broadband Office released its draft Digital Equity Plan in September, giving the public a full 60 days to submit comments and feedback. This wide berth for civic participation reflects the state's vision of ensuring every Washingtonian has affordable broadband and the tools to participate in our digital society. Here's a look at how exactly Washington plans to achieve its vision, and what this means for state residents experiencing the digital divide.

Through a series of acquisitions and mergers over three decades, prison technology companies like JPay and Global Tel Link (GTL) have dominated the prison telecommunications space, effectively becoming virtual monopolies. Anticompetitive practices have allowed corporations to gouge families with high prices and ancillary fees for prison phone calls, a practice that reportedly left one in three inmate families in debt.

The Washington State Department of Commerce committed $14.5 million in grants to continue expanding access to the internet through digital navigator services. These grants were awarded to three organizations:

Comcast and the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) launched a Digital Navigator program that will utilize trained students to get more Baltimore-area residents and CCBC students connected to the internet at home, while also teaching digital literacy skills and how to use devices. The program is supported by a $150,000 grant from Comcast that will be used to hire and train nearly a dozen CCBC students. The CCBC Digital Navigators will focus on addressing barriers households face to getting online, namely affordability, access to devices, and digital skills.

There are pragmatic steps within reach to ensure connectivity for all, trust for all, and opportunity for all:

One out of four urban households do not have a wireline subscription or the infrastructure to support one, making the challenge of closing the digital divide no small matter. Achieving digital equity is going to take time, and efforts will be ongoing as technology evolves and household circumstances change. “Digital skills are one issue that will never go away,” said Angela Siefer, Executive Director, National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA).