Research

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is the most ambitious federal initiative put into place to bridge the broadband connectivity gap for low-income Americans. The ACP launched in January 2022, serving almost 10 million households that were transitioned from the Emergency Broadband Benefit program (EBB). By the end of 2022, it had enrolled another 5.4 million households for a total of about 15.4 million subscribers in December 2022. Using data from the ACS 2021 1-year estimates, our estimation is that about 55.3 million households are eligible for ACP.

Ookla has data from Q3 and Q4 2022 for SpaceX’s Starlink and Sky Logic in Europe and Oceania, as well as new Starlink markets Ookla hadn't yet featured in its ongoing series on satellite internet. With the Federal Communication Commission greenlighting Amazon’s Project Kuiper and many other exciting satellite developments launching in 2023, all eyes will be on the sky in 2023 as new orbital connectivity options become available for consumers. Several developments from the analysis include:

There is a persistent and well-known gap between rural and urban populations in terms of their internet usage.

Broadband adoption is a determinant of health that intersects with other sociological determinants such as education and employment. Due to the rising reliance on digital technology, lack of broadband adoption prevents individuals from accessing the essential resources needed to fully participate in 21st century educational and employment opportunities. Vulnerable populations experience greater impacts of divestment, and therefore experience greater sociological stressors and worse health outcomes.

US Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced two bills to protect kids online and prevent harm by social media companies. The 

The Illinois Office of Broadband and the University of Illinois System announced the launch of the Connect Illinois Broadband and Digital Equity Planning Initiative. This year-long local coordination, engagement, and planning project will enable the state to receive the historic federal Digital Equity (DE) and Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program funds in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The initiative will leverage growing capacity within the Illinois Broadband Lab, which leverages $12.5 million in state and federal funding to support and sustain current programming

Technology is increasingly at the center of our lives. And as our dependence on the internet and digital communications increases, our workforce must keep up with the evolving skill demand. Despite the high demand for digital skills and the desire for skill-building opportunities among workers, many have not had the opportunity to fully develop such skills. The digital skill divide is the space between those who have the robust access and support needed to engage in skill-building opportunities and those who do not.

Federal systems are vulnerable to cyberattacks. The GAO has made 236 recommendations in public reports since 2010 with respect to protecting cyber critical infrastructure. Until these are fully implemented, federal agencies will be more limited in their ability to protect private and sensitive data entrusted to them. In September 2022, GAO's review of 24 agencies found that most had generally established policies and procedures for key privacy program activities.

The Federal Communications Commission recently released a “pre-production” draft of its new National Broadband Map in an effort to provide more precise details about where internet service does and does not exist in individual locations across the US. While much attention has been paid to how the map represents broadband service for individual households, there is much less understanding among the general public with regards to how the map represents individual community anchor institutions, such as public schools, libraries, and hospitals.

Despite broadband being an essential infrastructure for conducting basic socio-economic activities and reducing inequality and the digital divide, expanding broadband coverage in rural areas remains a significant challenge in many countries due to high deployment costs.