Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Education secretary calls digital divide ‘equity issue of our moment’ during Kansas City visit
US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona made stops in Kansas and Missouri as part of a multi-state tour, labeling internet access “the new pencil” as he discussed the government’s efforts to expand broadband connectivity. While speaking to superintendents and education leaders in Kansas, he declared lack of access the “equity issue of our moment.” Secretary Cardona was joined by Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to discuss the “digital divide,” with school superintendents and education leaders from corporate and nonprofit companies.
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The Power of a Letter of Support
The newly released Virginia proposed Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant rules highlight an issue that was included in the original grant rules. The BEAD program gives significant power to local governments through local letters of support.
President Biden is providing the funding to bridge the digital divide but one rule could squander this opportunity
Twenty-five years ago, when I headed up the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), my colleagues and I identified what has come to be known as the digital divide while researching the growing gap between the haves and have-nots of internet access. Back then, we never dreamed that the US government would one day commit $42 billion dollars in the form of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to close the divide. Yet, the Biden administration and Congress have provided the focus and the funds we need to get every American online.
A random sample of the Digital Divide
A tour of the remaining United States Digital Divide from a home in Quincy (CA) to an unserved farm in Newton (NC) to a home in Troy (AL). These locations (and more) are from a random sample of BEAD-eligible unserved and underserved locations that are not part of the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) or Alternative Connect America Model (A-CAM) programs.
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Benton Institute Joins Broadband Experts, ISPs, and Local Leaders to Urge Biden Administration to Fix Signature Broadband Investment Program
The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society joined a coalition of 300 broadband experts, internet service providers (ISPs), community leaders, nonprofits, consumer advocates, and business groups to highlight concerns about the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.
The $53,000 Connection: The High Cost of High-Speed Internet for Everyone
The cost of connecting Nebraska’s Winnebago Tribe reservation with fiber-optic cable could average $53,000 for each household and workplace connected. That amount exceeds the assessed value of some of the homes getting hookups, property records show.
Buy America Groundswell? BEAD Supplier Requirements May Be Easier to Meet Than Expected
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has tried hard to generate excitement about Buy America requirements for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) rural broadband funding program, even enlisting US Vice President Kamala Harris in the process.
Meet NTIA Digital Equity Director Angela Thi Bennett
As the US sets out to get everyone connected to broadband, it’s about more than just making sure broadband is available everywhere.
How far could the money go? Update with new Enhanced ACAM numbers
We could theoretically reach 94% of the Unserved and Underserved locations nationally. We only miss 750,000 locations. The biggest misses by percentage are Iowa (61% of Unserved and Underserved), Idaho (66%), Illinois, Kansas, and California (all 71%), Minnesota (76%), and Colorado and Nebraska (about 80%). I find it helpful to think about this as a simple math problem: how far the money might go can be estimated by multiplying the number of locations that need service times the average cost to serve them. There are 11.9 million Unserved and Underserved locations nationally.
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Language Barriers and Digital Equity
In 2019, more than 44.9 million immigrants lived in the United States. One-third (14.8 million) were low income, meaning that their family’s income was below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. These immigrants face challenges including language barriers and lack of access to information. In 2019, approximately 46 percent of immigrants ages five and older (approximately 20 million people) were Limited English Proficient (LEP). Immigrants accounted for 81 percent of the country’s 25.5 million LEP individuals.