Digital Equity

The Joplin City Council is considering a pact with Allo Missouri for citywide fiber-optic broadband. Joplin would contribute $4 million from an American Rescue Plan Act grant, and only eligible expenses would be paid from city funds.

Plus, Pennsylvania announces millions of dollars in new broadband funding, the FCC aims to expand Internet choice for residents of apartment buildings, and more.

Gov. Tim Walz has announced over $50 million in grants to expand broadband access to an estimated 8,900 homes and businesses throughout Minnesota, and Mower County is one of the recipients of that money.

AT&T has asked the California Public Utilities Commission to drop it as a “carrier of last resort,” which requires it to provide landline service in its coverage area. San Mateo County supervisors question the impacts to 911 and emergency services.

A new survey of Affordable Connectivity Program users detailed the financial hardships recipients face in affording broadband, and found more than half access government services online.

The Digital Equity Challenge invites individuals with ideas that address the Internet divide to enter the annual pitch contest, which will award $10,000 in cash prizes to the most promising solutions.

Missouri's statewide "Close the Gap" program offered low-income students up to $1,500 each through an online marketplace with hundreds of vendors, but it was stymied by technical glitches, price gouging and lack of inventory.

A library organization in Marin County has secured a grant from the California State Library to upgrade its Internet networking equipment, work that will involve replacing a core network system at one library.

In our interconnected world, lack of broadband feeds the digital divide within the United States, and if you think that doesn’t affect you, well, you’re wrong.

The state’s new Digital Equity Plan highlights goals and strategies to provide IT capabilities to all individuals and communities. It’s now being reviewed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Legislation requiring computer science instruction in California was referred to an Assembly committee last week. At a time when tens of thousands of computing jobs are available, most schools in the state don’t offer a single computer science course.

The Affordability Connectivity Program has subsidized broadband service for 23 million income-eligible U.S. households, but the program will run out of funding sometime in April unless Congress takes action.

Money for the Emergency Connectivity Fund is expected to run out June 30. The Federal Communications Commission will continue reviewing public input on the proposal until a determination is made.

For aspiring art students, a partnership between Skillshare and Procreate has produced a series of online videos demonstrating how to merge the earliest cartooning concepts with the latest digital drawing tools.

North Carolina is making $14 million available to nonprofits, government agencies and others as part of the Digital Champion grants to expand digital equity. Some 230 applicants have applied.

Unless Congress acts, the program that currently puts 23 million American households online is expected to run out of money in April. The program stopped accepting new applications this month.

At Net Inclusion 2024, digital equity experts weighed in on the potential inequities inherent to the acceleration of artificial intelligence, offering advice to those wanting to prepare.

A Washington school district is putting $47,000 in state grants toward mobile translation devices and community classes for families on how to navigate the Internet and specific technology tools.