The rollout of fiber broadband will never make it to many communities in the US. That’s because large, national ISPs are currently laying fiber primarily focused on high-income users to the detriment of the rest of their users. The absence of regulators has created a situation where wealthy end users are getting fiber, but predominantly low-income users are not being transitioned off legacy infrastructure. The result being “digital redlining” of broadband, where wealthy broadband users are getting the benefits of cheaper and faster Internet access through fiber, and low-income broadband users are being left behind with more expensive slow access by that same carrier. We have seen this type of economic discrimination in the past in other venues such as housing, and it is happening now with 21st-century broadband access.
Federal stimulus will help pay internet bills, boost broadband access across Minnesota Relief measure puts $7 billion toward increasing broadband access, paying monthly bills. January 15, 2021 8:36pm Text size Copy shortlink:
Carla Green spends about six hours a day on her computer, studying for her GED, selling custom scents and doing other work.
Green, 26, has been struggling to pay $60 a month for wired internet service in her International Falls apartment something she needs to make a better life, she says.
So she reached out to a local community action program for help and is waiting to get a provided hot spot, which she hopes will be fast and reliable enough for her school work.
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Broadband Funding, Policies May Change in a Biden White House
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to make a difference when it comes to federal broadband initiatives, experts say. The two remaining Senate races in Georgia also hold importance for federal Internet programs. Now President-elect Joe Biden during the Oct. 22, 2020 presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. Shutterstock/Devi Bones
The administration of President-elect Joe Biden will likely have a significant influence on federal broadband funding and conversations surrounding Federal Communications Commission (FCC) programs, according to multiple policy experts in the space.
Will Rinehart, senior research fellow at Utah State University’s Center for Growth and Opportunity, said Biden and Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s secretary of transportation nominee, want to make a “big splash” with infrastructure. Both politicians have zeroed in on broadband as an a
Dec 11, 2020 | STATESCOOP
Through a new partnership with the nonprofit National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Illinois officials next year will deploy a team of volunteers to assist residents of low-income and rural communities with digital literacy skills.
The program, called the Connect Illinois Digital Navigator Network, will train applicants to provide “comprehensive digital literacy coaching” to people across the state that are unsure how to connect to the internet, use their devices and access applications on those devices, Matt Schmit, the head of the Illinois Office of Broadband, said during a webinar Friday.
The program is based on a model that the National Digital Inclusion Alliance launched earlier this year in Appalachia and Salt Lake City to foster technology help for people who were stuck at home, said Paolo Balboa, a program manager at the organization. Cities like Philadelphia have also launched digital navigator programs of their own, s