Low-income

Much of the focus in policy circles has been on how to expand broadband access to those Americans without it. This is a worthy goal, but we should not lose sight of the magnitude of the other part of the digital divide: the adoption gap. FCC data shows about 35% or approximately 114 million Americans do not subscribe to broadband service at their homes. Cost is often cited as the leading factor for why Americans do not subscribe to broadband even when it is offered. Clearly, we need a strategy to address this gap, too.

Money spent getting high-speed internet into more people’s hands is money well spent. Every dollar invested in broadband returns nearly four dollars to the economy. In addition to expanding the reach of networks, we must focus on the cost issue. Broadband is surely an essential need for all Americans in the 21st century.

Associate Professor Colin Rhinesmith’s research on broadband access, wireless hotspot lending, and digital equity has new relevance and importance in light of the pandemic. “The most relevant work I’ve done is around the cost of broadband internet access,” says Rhinesmith.

Our nation’s health depends on immediate action to ensure that Americans urged to stay home can do so. Households that otherwise cannot afford it must receive access to broadband internet and unlimited telephone use. The Senate will very soon consider a coronavirus stimulus package: it must include an emergency communications benefit. The Senate should act to offer low-income households a $50 monthly benefit to obtain faster speed broadband and unlimited talk and text for the duration of the coronavirus crisis.

Distance learning in the pandemic highlights a problem that experts have warned about for years - some students have good access to the Internet, and others do not. It's called the digital divide. Many districts are about to start the school year with more distance learning, so how can they narrow that divide? Nicol Turner Lee thinks it's important for schools to put together what she calls the 21st-century remote access blueprint.

Prior to COVID-19, I interviewed individuals experiencing the digital divide phenomenon and were also avid public library users. I learned that their public library supported their needs on a daily basis.

The coronavirus has exposed a deeply rooted problem in childhood education that could damage our national economy long after the pandemic subsides. Broadly speaking, that problem is a lack of preparedness for the future. As the private sector grows increasingly digitized with each passing year, many American students lack even a basic understanding of digital technologies, and are becoming less qualified for the thousands of advanced manufacturing jobs that will soon dominate America’s mid-century economy.

Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) and 26 Senate Democrats introduced the Emergency Broadband Connections Act to ensure that millions of Americans can access essential broadband connections in the middle of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The legislation would provide a $50/month benefit to workers who have been laid off or furloughed during the pandemic, along with a range of other assistance to ensure families can access critical online services.

Thousands of people in communities across the country are about to grapple with losing broadband service. Free services started to help low-income families during the pandemic and a pledge not to cut off service or charge late fees to customers struggling financially are ending June 30. If left unaddressed, this end threatens to unravel a precarious thread of the social safety net at a particularly difficult time for many American families.

We urge Congress to establish a broadband credit — call it America’s Broadband Credit — to ensure many more people can afford high-speed Internet access. Congress could set a household subsidy of $50 per month, which is roughly the cost of medium-tier broadband plans in urban settings (and it could provide a higher subsidy for tribal lands). That subsidy would allow anyone and any device in the household to be connected to the Internet, simultaneously, which is how so many families today are operating.