Marginalized Populations

Marginalized populations are those excluded from mainstream social, economic, educational, and/or cultural life. Examples of marginalized populations include, but are not limited to, groups excluded due to race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, language, and/or immigration status.

(August 19, 2022)

PSC Now Accepting Applications for ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin is now accepting applications for multiple federally funded grant programs to assist in the state’s broadband and digital equity planning efforts. In December 2022, Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) and the PSC announced the state will receive nearly $6 million to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet throughout the state.

How Inaccurate Broadband Maps Impact California, the Most Populous State

Not too long ago, the Federal Communications Commission released updates to its national broadband maps. For years, the FCC’s maps have been criticized for inaccuracies. That prompted state entities to collect their own broadband data, including the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

FCC Improving Support for Digital Health in Rural America

The Federal Communications Commission approved a number of proposals for the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program to make it easier for healthcare providers to receive support, reduce delays in funding commitments, and improve the overall efficiency of the program. Reliable high-speed connectivity is critical for rural healthcare providers to serve patients in rural areas that often have limited resources, fewer doctors, and higher rates for broadband and telecommunications services than urban areas.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $33.5 Million in Internet for All Grants to 12 Minority-Serving Colleges and Universities

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it has awarded 12 grants as part of the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC). These grants, totaling more than $33.5 million, will expand community technology hubs, upgrade classroom technology, and increase digital literacy skills at 12 minority-serving colleges and universities in 10 states. The awardees are as follows:

USDA Admin Berke talks broadband demand, Farm Bill, and ReConnect program

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a major hand in broadband matters. The agency's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is responsible for overseeing a number of rural broadband funding programs, including the well-known multi-billion-dollar ReConnect loan and grant initiative. Andrew Berke has only recently taken the reigns as RUS Administrator, having been appointed by President Biden in October 2022.

New York City Mayor Adams Highlights Broadband in State of the City Address

New York City Mayor Eric Adams outlined a “Working People’s Agenda” in his second State of the City address. Under the Working People’s Agenda, the Adams administration will expand the Big Apple Connect program to reach even more New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments with free broadband and TV for tens of thousands of New Yorkers. The administration will also rovide free broadband access to households with Section 8 vouchers with a new pilot program in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan.

How the Martha Wright-Reed Act Moves Us Closer to Just and Reasonable Communications

For many incarcerated people in the United States, exorbitant phone rates and fees make it consistently difficult to keep in touch with loved ones, lawyers, and others outside of prison. The Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022—signed by President Joe Biden on January 5, 2023—will ensure just and reasonable charges for telephone and advanced communications services in correctional and detention facilities across the country.

FCC Improving Support for Digital Health in Rural America

The Federal Communications Commission approved several proposals for the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program to make it easier for healthcare providers to receive support, reduce delays in funding commitments, and improve the program's overall efficiency. Reliable high-speed connectivity is critical for rural healthcare providers to serve patients in rural areas that often have limited resources, fewer doctors, and higher rates for broadband and telecommunications services than urban areas.

Closing the Digital Divide Requires More Than a Quick Fix

In the summer of 2023, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will begin distributing hundreds of millions, and in some cases billions, of funding to states as part of the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Expectedly, states are busy creating and staffing broadband offices in anticipation of the BEAD and digital equity monies. Blinded by a nationwide broadband fever, however, some broadband leaders have proclaimed that states will entirely close, bridge, or eliminate the digital divide in the coming years.

Comparing broadband access to adoption in urban, suburban, and rural America

New Federal Communications Commission maps that measure broadband access, and new American Community Survey data that measure adoption, show that only 64.4% of rural American households have access to broadband at 100/20 throughput. Most, 58.8%, subscribe to broadband, a gap of less than 6 percentage points. Even with new FCC maps, 98.5% of urban households have access to broadband, but only 73% subscribe.