Digital Equity

County commissioners have approved a $2.5 million grant application to the Appalachian Regional Commission to help incentivize the buildout of broadband infrastructure in the region.

According to The Center for Digital Equity at Queens University of Charlotte, more than 14 percent of homes in Mecklenburg County, almost 56,000 households, do not have Internet access.

Plus, the New York Public Library has won an innovation award for tackling the digital divide, Nevada is the latest state to launch a high-speed Internet outreach tour, and more.

Over the past few months, the city of Birmingham has helped enroll hundreds of residents in the Affordable Connectivity Program, while increasing digital skills expertise and expanding tech device accessibility through its CONNECT99 campaign.

For some Wyandotte County residents, the area’s online auctions of property with delinquent taxes, otherwise known as virtual tax sales, have become an unwelcome tradition.

The construction phase of a multiyear project to provide high-speed fiber-optic Internet to more than 16,000 rural residents in Lowndes County has begun. The project will connect around 96 percent of the unserved county census blocks.

Over the past three years, Ed Farm has opened K-12 learning spaces to train students in STEM, created specialized training to empower STEM teachers and provided virtual resources and tech internships at the university level.

Plus, the White House announces $25.7 million in new Internet grants for tribal communities in two states, Delaware names an executive director for its newly created broadband office and more.

A new report has found that only 12 percent of eligible residents have signed up for the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program, which helps pay for high-speed Internet.

Narrowing the digital divide between those who can't afford a computer or Internet access and those who can is the goal of a program taking place in several communities in Essex County, including Haverhill.

The nation's largest municipal broadband program has expanded by nearly 50 percent, now delivering free Internet and basic cable television to approximately 300,000 New Yorkers in public housing.

Officials in Harlingen, Texas, are considering a range of options to bridge the digital divide, including working with broadband service providers, teaming up with Cameron County and searching for grant money.

Plus, a continued look at what some state and local governments are doing to increase participation in the Affordable Connectivity Program, and more.

Assistant Secretary Roberto Rodriguez of the U.S. Department of Education has seen recent progress in narrowing the digital divide and thinks new technologies could help address several problems while creating others.

A dozen towns throughout Lewis County, N.Y., will now have access to 27 Wi-Fi hot spots thanks to a collaboration between the county and Internet service provider Spectrum. The project was created through a $370,000 program with Spectrum.

The AT&T Connected Learning Center, located at the Rincon Education Center, increases Internet access for tribal community members, while providing opportunities for students to do homework and for adults to seek employment.

The county board of commissioners is asking to be considered for the state’s Realizing Opportunities for Broadband Infrastructure Networks grant, seizing the opportunity to apply before the next round of grants in 2024.

Plus, Vermont is the latest state actively seeking resident input on its digital equity planning, Hawaii's state digital equity leader is honored by a pair of new awards, and more.