COVID Improved the Digital Divide

Examples of how the digital divide was closer to closed because of COVID:

• Seattle’s Digital Bridge pilot program connecting low-income residents with low-cost refurbished laptops
• Seattle partnered with Wave Broadband to offer low-income households free home Internet for 60 days
• Washington State created Wi-Fi hot spots across the state
• Chattanooga, TN & Hamilton County, TN announced a 10 year initiative to offer no-cost high-speed home Internet to the 28,500 children who receive free or reduced-price school lunches — about 60% of the county school system’s students
• Philadelphia is connecting 35,000 families with no-cost Internet from Comcast for the next two years
• San Antonio, TX pledged to invest more than $27 million to provide broadband access through private wireless networks using existing fiber infrastructure on traffic lights

Governing | Some Encouraging Steps on the Path to Digital Inclusion