Marginalized Populations

The Federal Communications Commission set guidelines for two pilot programs aimed at increasing both awareness of and participation in the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households (and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands). On October 11, the FCC provided an update on the implementation of the pilot programs.

Comcast’s entry-level internet service was not fast enough for Lia Moniz’s two schoolkids, so she upgraded to a faster connection that costs her more than $80 a month. A new Comcast offer, Internet Essentials Plus (IEP), has the potential to make Moniz’s internet free. IEP has the most bang for the buck. It offers speeds up to 100 megabits per second downstream and 10 megabits up, with free cable modem and Wi-Fi hot spot rental, for $29.95 a month. This is covered by the $30 Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) benefit, so on the bottom line, it’s free.

Applications are open for the Main Connectivity Authority's "Connect the Ready Program." The competitive grants program will allocate $70 million to public & private partners such as governmental entities, broadband utility districts, and internet service providers (ISP). This initiative will support partners’ efforts to proactively and collaboratively design, fund, and build broadband infrastructure projects in eligible areas.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) conducted an annual broadband survey in 2021. The survey asked folks who didn’t have home broadband what they would be willing to pay, with the question, “At what monthly price, if any, would your household buy home Internet service?” The purpose of the survey was to understand the kind of price points that might be needed to get broadband to more of these households. Three-quarters of respondents said they would only get broadband if it was free. I find this result to be troubling for several reasons:

Telemedicine is a way for health care providers to deliver clinical health care to patients remotely through a computer or telephone, without an in-person office visit. The demonstrated benefits of telemedicine include improved access to care, convenience, and slowing the spread of infection. During the COVID-19 pandemic, legislation expanded coverage for telemedicine healthcare services. Key findings from this research include the following: 

Over the last two years, in California and across the country, billions of public dollars have been allocated to end the digital divide. The Digital Equity LA coalition and the California Community Foundation (CCF) Digital Equity Initiative set out in this report to document what people are being asked to pay for home internet in diverse neighborhoods across Los Angeles County (CA). Pricing information was obtained directly from internet service provider (ISP) websites using residential addresses in each of the neighborhoods examined.

Anchor institutions should teach digital skills to low-income communities because they play a pivotal role in getting communities connected, said Senior Fellow at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society John Horrigan. According to Horrigan, skills training within communities is critically important to teaching digital skills and literacy, which will contribute to bridging the digital divide.

Millions of dollars later, LinkNYC still hasn’t fixed the city’s stubborn digital divide or the privacy issues raised half a decade ago. LinkNYC, unveiled in 2014, was an ambitious plan to replace the city’s dated pay phones with “information kiosks” providing free public Wi-Fi, phone calls, device charging, and a tablet for access to city services, maps, and directions.

To help policymakers, leaders, and residents better understand the state's digital divide, the Community Development Network of Maryland has a new map that shows where gaps in digital equity are more (or less) severe throughout the state. The Maryland Digital Equity Index shows how digital inequity afflicts urban and rural parts of Maryland.

Nearly 450,000 residents in the state don't have adequate broadband, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. The office has been tracking the data for years and will roll out its own map in the fall of where Tennesseans lack access to high-speed internet of at least 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream. This measurement is new for the department, so new that the Federal Communication Commission doesn't have that measurement on their own maps, which they believe will show up in the next iteration of data in late 2022 to early 2023.