Baltimore has made steady progress in recent years toward addressing access, including investing in digital skills training and staffing up to address the gaps.
This work has advanced further in the past year, according to city Director of Broadband and Digital Equity Kenya Asli. It includes building out the city’s middle-mile network, Asli explained, which lays the foundation for the city’s next project: Officials plan to release a request for proposals to invite a new Internet service provider (ISP) into the city market. The city has had limited ISP options for many years, Asli said, and this will improve competition and choice for consumers. The RFP is expected to be released in the coming months.
“Folks want more options, and so we are bringing in more options,” Asli said, noting the city is lowering the barrier to entry for ISPs through this middle-mile network.
Baltimore has used $5 million to establish a grant program — the second round of funding for which invested $1.8 million in October — to forge partnerships with local nonprofits and leverage existing expertise to better support the community.
The city has also made progress in building out its free public Wi-Fi network, FreeBmoreWiFi, which it plans to continue expanding.
Its digital equity report, released in March, illustrates the city’s progress, from digital skills training and device access efforts to expanding its free public Wi-Fi network. One remaining challenge highlighted in this report, however, is the need for affordable access.
For Baltimore, four goals guide digital equity work, according to Asli: 1) access to technical support in all languages; 2) digital literacy training, also in multiple languages; 3) device access; and 4) reliable, affordable, high-speed connectivity.
In the digital age, Asli said it is critical that everyone the government serves has the ability to get online; and multilingual training and support play a role in that. This multilingual service access, Asli said, is part of the city’s work to meet people where they are.
One program that impacted the city is the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The city had invested time in raising awareness about the initiative, which included collaboration with grassroots organizations, but it ultimately ended because Congress failed to allocate funding to continue it.
Asli said she, with officials whom she works with in other cities, is seeing the impact of the ACP’s end on constituents: “A lot of our residents have lost some measure of trust in government-funded or government-supported programs like these.”
So, how does a local government rebuild that trust? Asli said ACP played an important role in helping Baltimore residents access connectivity. In its wake, the city is funding grassroots, community-serving organizations to help ensure that important information — such as the forthcoming announcement of new ISPs being available — can reach residents from a trusted community partner.
“That’s the game-changer,” said Asli, noting some populations may not effectively be reached through a government website.
The Baltimore government can be a voice and a leader in digital equity, but the city itself cannot accomplish its goals alone, Asli said. She underlined the importance of collaborative partnerships, including those with other key government agencies like the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, with ISPs, and with trusted community organizations.
And while many localities are preparing for the impact of forthcoming federal funding opportunities through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program, Asli said Baltimore does not expect to see any of that money. This, she said, is because the FCC broadband map identifies the city of Baltimore’s residences as being served.
Instead, the city is focusing on other initiatives for the year ahead. Officials previously leveraged $30 million in federal funding from a different source, the American Rescue Plan Act. That investment supported city infrastructure and now Asli is exploring how the infrastructure can be monetized to support long-term digital equity.
As such, later this year, Baltimore will launch a dark fiber leasing program, allowing the city to reinvest revenue back into this work. Because the city has the conduit in place, and it goes to nearly every address, leaders will now be targeting ISPs that meet local requirements — affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet. The city is focused specifically on fiber for this, she underlined, rather than Wi-Fi solutions.
Baltimore may be facing a decrease in federal funding, as is the case across the country, Asli said, as governments brace for a recession. This initiative aims to create a revenue generator that does not add a burden to Baltimore’s general fund. It is expected to formally launch this fall.
“We will close the gap in Baltimore city,” said Asli. “And if you don’t believe me, just watch me.”
