Digital Equity

The San Antonio Food Bank has teamed up with the San Antonio Public Library, nonprofit Feeding Texas and ISP Google Fiber to spearhead "Get Connected!," an effort to bolster digital literacy rates.

Officials announced the county would take part in a major effort to deploy broadband coverage in a fiber-to-the home solution to more than 3,372 homes and businesses that currently do not have service.

In so many tribal and rural parts of the state, even on the fringes of cities including Seattle, Spokane and Leavenworth, it can often be difficult or impossible to connect to the online world.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has awarded a grant of $1,204,502 to support broadband Internet connectivity in Giles County, Va., a local representative said Thursday.

To reach communities that are unserved and underserved by current high-speed Internet availability, states and broadband providers that leverage available data will make the biggest impact.

Plus, apply for a job with the New York City Digital Service, Virginia announces more than $700 million in broadband connection grants, new data visualization shows innovations in cities spending federal money and more.

As prices for fiber-optic cable heat up, Vermont isn’t waiting around for federal funds. The state is also preparing a broadband technician training program that pays students, so long as they share some income if hired.

The National League of Cities last week released its Digital Equity Playbook, which offers information, case studies and strategies to help local government leaders in their digital equity work.

Santa Clara County is set to consider creating its own Internet service provider in response to what some supervisors said is the deep digital divide that leaves underserved residents in the county without access.

Plus, Illinois Tech team develops environmentally sound digital currency; the National League of Cities unveils a new digital equity playbook; Washington approves $44.6 million of broadband grants; and more.

Backed by Gates' investment company Pivotal Ventures, the Gender Equality in Tech program will partner with Florida International University to direct female students in search of a major toward technology studies.

Plus, Rhode Island is investing $1.7 million worth of grants into Internet expansion efforts for that state, and the USDA has started to accept applications for its own grants to overcome rural broadband challenges.

Virtual hearings and e-filing tools bring convenience — but not to everyone. Individuals representing themselves in civil cases can struggle with limited digital offerings and user experiences designed for lawyers.

Manchester School District in New Hampshire is co-funding an initiative from the National Collaborative for Digital Equity to deliver refurbished laptops to students and teach them about hardware, software and functions.

As use of new technology by government continues to increase, experts and advocates in the space say that public servants should be keenly aware of the potential to exacerbate long-standing biases.

Officials with the New Mexico Department of Information Technology acknowledged Monday the state has not done enough to prepare for wide expansion of broadband access, particularly across tribal lands.

Some broadband providers are exploiting the Emergency Broadband Benefit program, says the Federal Communications Commission. Such providers may be targeted for legal action as investigation continues.

Some Internet service providers in New York believe the billions of broadband dollars from the federal infrastructure bill could make the state a national leader in terms of finally closing the digital divide.