Digital Equity

Plus, Chicago has posted a new RFI related to expanding broadband access throughout the entire city, Pittsburgh has announced a new digital equity coalition, North Carolina has a digital equity grant program and more.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said this week that they want to close the region's digital divide within the next five years, calling special attention to racial disparities in service.

The federal Office of Educational Technology during today's National Digital Equity Summit launched its Advancing Digital Equity for All resource, which provides a platform for recommendations to establish equity plans.

Allegheny County and city of Pittsburgh officials have announced plans for a joint program that will work toward closing the region's digital divide by 2027, though full details aren't expected until late spring.

Internet service provider Spectrum announced broadband expansion across Wisconsin’s Chippewa, Eau Claire and Dunn counties. The company will be providing broadband to 1,140 homes across the three area counties.

The grant comes through the FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which began in 2019, and will provide a total of $91.3 million over the next decade to regional cooperatives in the northeastern part of the state.

The federal Affordable Connectivity Program helps people get high-speed Internet at home for $30 a month, but enrollment is at less than 40 percent among eligible households across the country.

Plus, the NTIA has updated its guide for federal broadband funding; New York City is offering free municipal broadband to housing authority residents; a new paper explores telehealth’s impact on maternal health; and more.

As broadband expansion efforts increase nationwide, digital equity advocates are working to ensure that urban communities are included. New federal funding opportunities are adding fuel to these efforts.

For Chicago Ridge Public Library, funding from the Emergency Connectivity Fund has gone toward purchasing new laptops and Wi-Fi hot spots to help residents connect to the Internet.

After being put on hold in May 2022, the Internet Master Plan has been in a state of limbo as officials map the next steps. Another newly announced undertaking, however, promises to put a dent in the digital divide in the meantime.

Edmonds, who was one of the first digital inclusion directors for a municipal government anywhere in the United States, is taking a position as CEO of DigitalC, a Cleveland-based nonprofit that works on digital equity.

A nationwide survey of education and state leaders conducted by the State Educational Technology Directors Association revealed that cybersecurity and digital equity remain top issues for K-12 schools.

Plus, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for a program that will invest $1 billion in rural high-speed Internet, Tennessee has announced $447 million in broadband investments, and more.

Three fiber-optic network providers that will offer high-speed Internet in Colorado Springs have launched construction or are poised to begin as they race to capture customers in various parts of the region.

Federal and state representatives were invited to a panel by Rep. Henry Cuellar regarding the nationwide expansion of broadband connectivity and accessibility, emphasizing new guidelines for what high-speed means.

GovTech checked in with Boston; Mesa, Ariz.; and Oakland, Calif., to get a sense of what some of the newest things happening in digital equity are across the country, as cities continue to prioritize the digital divide.

Appalachian Power filed a request with the West Virginia Public Service Commission to increase its broadband surcharge rates by $3.6 million in order to fund the expansion of broadband service to 13,000 unserved customers.