Cities Fight to Address Lingering Digital Divide

A new report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project cites that 20 percent of Americans do not have broadband access, while an additional 10 percent of Americans have broadband access via smartphones. The report suggests that age, educational attainment, and household income continue to be the defining factors for home broadband adoption. Broadband access is recognized as a driver for economic mobility, and communities across the country are addressing the issue with a range of policies that provide models for increasing affordability and access.

The report notes that U.S. Census data from 2011 suggests that 98 percent of U.S. households are located within areas that have access to broadband. For potential broadband users, the cost of access is listed as the most popular reason for not adopting broadband. While nine out of 10 college graduates use broadband, user rates drop to 37 percent for adults who do not have a high school diploma. A digital divide persists for citizens who have potential access to broadband, but cannot afford home usage, driving economic disadvantages tied to educational attainment and household income.

Localized studies of broadband access portray a similar digital divide. In Cleveland, Ohio, a study performed by OneCommunity, a nonprofit organization that supports universal broadband access for the city, found that 43 percent of residents within the city’s “inner core” did not have household access to broadband.

Community initiatives across the country illustrate different but complimentary approaches to addressing broadband affordability and connectivity. Examples include retrofitting libraries to serve as shared access facilities that provide open-access, training, and digital services. Coppin State University’s Coppin Heights-Rosemont Family Computer Center, funded with a grant by Broadband USA, has built relationships with neighborhood associations, schools, youth organizations, and churches to encourage inner-city community members to access the center. The university has built online access training programs to assist community members and provides online access for thousands of inner-city K-12 students who do not have regular access to computers in their own schools.

Another approach used by a growing number of cities across the country is the direct provision of municipal-owned broadband. Local officials work with private partners to provide community-owned, broadband access at no or limited cost to households. SSTI reported on the proliferation of community broadband initiatives in our May 15th issue. City-owned broadband networks have some of the fastest connectivity rates in the country and have been cited as a catalyst for dynamic economic recoveries in cities like Chattanooga, Tennessee. Other cities are providing household subsidies for broadband access. In Los Angeles and New York City, public schools offer K-12 students with access to “home learning centers,” refurbished computers loaded with educational software, as well as vouchers for discounted broadband service.

The federal government also has recognized the importance of broadband inclusion, releasing a Broadband Adoption toolkit earlier this year that provides best practices for local policy initiatives that address digital literacy, workforce development, and education initiatives.