Marginalized Populations

Ninety-two percent of jobs across all U.S. industries require some level of digital skills, the National Skills Coalition estimated in a 2023 study.

Online classes for older adults are increasingly helping the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) not only raise digital skill levels—but more efficiently implement other technology to serve clients, including artificial intelligence.

Whitfield County (GA) Board of Commissioners Chairman Jevin Jensen said no resident within the county should be “left behind” concerning broadband internet access. Speaking at a community listening session, Jensen and county consultant Jake Bearden heard from members of the public about internet access and broadband projects. Whitfield County was awarded $30,000 in grant funding in March from Connect Humanity’s Appalachian Digital Accelerator initiative. Bearden said the meeting was the “first step in making sure that all of Whitfield County has equal access to (broadband).” Jensen said the

There’s a lot of government funding going around for rural broadband, but it won’t mean much if those last mile networks aren’t connected to the rest of the network, says Bill Long, chief product and strategy officer at Zayo Group.

People with disabilities regularly face accessibility challenges while using government websites. Solving these challenges has become more urgent, for two reasons. First, COVID-19 pushed more of life online, and it is often easier now to do business digitally than in person. Second, the U.S.

Nevada's universal access mandate can only be achieved when the internet services offered to consumers are affordable and desirable, and when offering those services makes business sense for a provider. Affordability is a central tenant of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology's (OSIT) broadband deployment and digital adoption goals and strategies.

The end of the Affordable Care Program (ACP) in May left a significant number of people at risk of losing access to broadband. Empowerus is trying to help soften the blow with a unique set of benefits that they believe constitute a replacement for the ACP. Empowerus and the Secure Card Association of America (SCAA) are partnering to provide a bundle of benefits to eligible households. Empowerus participants can opt for several benefits, including:

On July 9, the House Commerce Committee's Communications and Technology Subcommittee held a hearing on the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget for the Federal Communications Commission. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel testified before the subcommittee along with fellow commissioners Brendan Carr, Geoffrey Starks, Nathan Simington, and Anna Gomez.

Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) President Andrew Butcher isn’t hyper-focused on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and the $272 million that Maine will be receiving. “Unfortunately, I think it’s a common misnomer that, once you deploy BEAD, the problem is solved,” Butcher said. The MCA was founded and structured largely based on lessons from Maine’s successful 2020 state bond campaign and 2021 bid for $28 million from National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Infrastructure Program to support six community-driven, regional-scale, publ