Equitable Broadband Expansion: How the Federal Government Can Combat the Digital Divide and COVID-19
Lindsey McGuire, Consultant
Washington, D.C.
The gap between those with access to high-speed broadband and those without has accelerated due to COVID-19. In the U.S., this digital divide is disproportionately affecting rural and lower-income communities. The quick shift to remote work and distance-only learning has highlighted many challenges primed to worsen as our society becomes increasingly digitized.
“We have to meet this moment,” said Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, a national nonprofit focused on education, workforce leadership and culture. On Corner Alliance’s recent “Investing in Our Future” webinar, Tijerino detailed how COVID-19 has had a disproportionate effect on minority communities and expanded the “tech equity gap.” According to Tijerino, the pandemic calls for urgent action from the federal government. “This gap is negatively affecting our communities not just in the area of education, but also in job opportunities, gathering information, accessing healthcare, [and] even in the ability to mobilize our communities during this time of social unrest.”
Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee, Senior Fellow and the Director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution, echoed Tijerino and noted how the pandemic is worsening the already disparate broadband access across the nation. “There are 18 million people that before the pandemic did not have broadband access,” Dr. Turner-Lee noted on the webinar. “That number will probably be higher because now we are dealing with the overlap of other systemic inequalities—foreclosures, evictions, job loss—that are going to limit people's ability to get and stay connected.”
This widespread disruption of broadband connectivity comes amidst the increasing need for broadband. To mitigate the spread of the pandemic, more workers and students are forced to work and learn from home. “COVID has actually shown the intersectionality of other systemic inequalities with the likelihood of not having digital access,” added Dr. Turner-Lee.
The digital divide did not begin with COVID-19 and it will not disappear with a vaccine. The federal government should focus on identifying and funding solutions that will close the digital divide and increase tech equity by expanding broadband access to everyone in America—across all facets of life.
The tools we have available now
The panelists on the Corner Alliance webinar outlined several actions the federal government can take to begin expanding access to broadband. Anna M. Gomez asserted that solving the digital divide cannot “be done by a single agency in the federal government” and that “it has got to be all hands-on deck at all levels of government.” Gomez has experience coordinating multi-agency responses to expanding broadband access as a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and newly appointed member of the Biden-Harris Transition Team.
A first step identified to close the digital divide is to start with a comprehensive data collection strategy to pinpoint where funds for broadband are needed the most. Dr. Turner Lee provided a real-world challenge facing many local school officials as they try to ensure unconnected students obtain broadband access. “Superintendents had no idea who was serving their kids [with the internet] because we have no national broadband map.”
The current FCC broadband map was created using data submitted biannually by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) on where they provide service and it is broken down to the census block-level. There are issues with the accuracy of the map because entire census blocks may be marked as “served” by high-speed internet even if just one household in the block has this service. Dr. Turner Lee suggested federal investment to fund the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (DATA) Act, which was passed by Congress in 2019 to address problems with the current map and create a National Broadband Map. Additionally, instead of relying on ISPs to self-report which areas they serve, this new initiative may benefit from collecting this information directly from Americans, perhaps by using the census to identify which households do not have broadband.
An accurate, up-to-date National Broadband Map would have many benefits and support a data-driven effort to direct federal funding. It would also be a helpful baseline data point to support future real time measurement of the impact of investments as they are implemented to enhance nationwide coverage. As Gomez put it, “We really do need to identify the efficacy of the current programs. We need to understand why we have so many unconnected people today.”
The panelists also outlined how beneficial it would be for the federal government to reshape engagement with ISPs. Currently, the internet service industry is incentivized to provide service to the areas with the highest density of customers to maximize profits. It is essential to motivate ISPs to serve rural and/or low-income communities through targeted federal funding and incentives. Gomez noted that the government could use tax incentives, subsidies, and regulatory support to do this, explaining that “We cannot expect [ISPs] to simply step up to the plate 100% on their own.”
Panelists also raised that racial equity must be at the center of all actions taken to close the digital divide. Tijerino cited a 2020 Report by Deutsche Bank which found that access to broadband for Black and Hispanic Americans is an estimated ten years behind White Americans, adding that racial equity “cannot get left out of the conversation in terms of education, workforce development, access to information, being able to communicate with each other, and mobilizing communities.”
Bridging the digital divide by investing in equitable access to broadband technology is key to creating a resilient economy that can adapt quickly to the next challenge. “If it was not the pandemic today, it would be California wildfires tomorrow,” said Dr. Turner-Lee. The COVID-19 crisis has shown how important access to technology is for businesses and schools to successfully adapt during a crisis.
Through the creation of an accurate National Broadband Map, the incentivization of ISPs to invest in under-served areas, and a continued commitment to racial equity, the federal government and its partners have the ability to quickly and directly improve the lives of millions of Americans.
Our next conversation
With more than a decade of experience in this domain, Corner Alliance is here to help federal agencies navigate these challenges to close the digital divide. We use our proven and customizable stakeholder-driven approach to deliver solutions aligned with our client’s mission. Read more insights from the “Investing in Our Future” webinar and sign up to attend the next conversation here.
Author
Lindsey McGuire, Consultant to the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service, is on a mission to stay curious while developing herself professionally. She is a Las Vegas native and proud alumna of the George Washington University.