BroadbandUSA Newsletter February 2019

Vol 4 | Issue 1| February 2019
To sign up for BroadbandUSA’s newsletter, email broadbandusa@ntia.gov.

Digital Divide Among School-Age Children Narrows, but Millions Still Lack Internet Connections
by Rafi Goldberg, Policy Analyst, Office of Policy Analysis and Development

America continues to make significant strides in reducing the digital divide among school-age children, according to NTIA’s November 2017 Internet Use Survey. In 2017, 14 percent of the U.S. population between ages 6 and 17 lived in homes with no Internet service, down from 19 percent in 2015. These are encouraging numbers that echo our previous report on the narrowing digital divide. Still, significant challenges remain, especially for the approximately 7 million school-age children that lived in households without home Internet service in 2017. These children were also less likely than their peers to use the Internet from other locations. See the complete blog here.

Broadband News and Updates

Federal News

State News

Pew Charitable Trusts: Can You Hear Me Now? In Quest for Federal Money, States Debunk Providers’ Coverage Claims
Alaska: 20% of Alaskans Don’t Have Access To Broadband Internet. This Satellite Startup Aims To Change That
Colorado: More Colorado Cities Jump On the Fiber-Broadband Bandwagon
Georgia: Internet Service For Rural Georgia Could Come From Power Companies
Illinois: State’s New Ag Director Talks Trade, Farm Bill and Department Priorities
Kansas: Kansas Broadband Task Force's First Meeting
Mississippi: A Bipartisan Bill in Mississippi Could Bring High-Speed Broadband to the Delta
Missouri: Missouri Still Looking to Expand Rural Broadband
New Hampshire: Broadband Public-Private Partnerships Emerge In New Hampshire
North Carolina: North Carolina, Nation’s First Gigabit State? That’s the Goal, Say State Officials
Oregon: Oregon Opens Broadband Office to Connect Rural Residents
Pennsylvania: Penn State Study Says Most of Pa. Lacks Access to High-speed Broadband
Vermont: State’s Wireless Coverage Map Shows Phone Company Estimates Overstated
Virginia: Government-subsidized Internet Crosses Political Boundaries in Southwest Virginia
Washington: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee "Proposes Broadband Access For All"; Announces Creation Of State Broadband Office
West Virginia: W.Va. House Passes Broadband Internet Bill, Sends to Senate and West Virginia's new chief technology officer says he's taking a 'risk approach

Public Safety/FirstNet

Funding

General News

Resources

Congressional Research Service: Tribal Broadband: Status of Deployment and Federal Funding Programs (PDF)
Congressional Research Service: Broadband Internet Access and the Digital Divide: Federal Assistance Programs (PDF)
Benton Foundation: Elections Matter: Who’s Who in Telecommunications Policy in the 116th Congress
Next Century Cities Launches “Becoming Broadband Ready” - A Toolkit For Community Leaders Seeking To Connect Residents To Broadband (PDF)
Consortium for School Networking (COSN): Driving K-12 Innovation

Events

NTIA Events

February 20, 2019
BroadbandUSA Practical Broadband Conversations Webinar Series: Measuring the Digital Divide: Review of Recent Surveys and Data
Time: 2:00 PM Eastern

This has been rescheduled from January 2019. If you have already registered, please register again. Thank you!

NTIA and the U.S. Census Bureau will present information on two large-scale consumer studies focused on computer and Internet use in America. The speakers will highlight the latest data from the surveys about who is online, who is not, how and where people access and use the Internet, what concerns they have, and more. Experts will show you how to access the data yourself, point you to open data resources, and answer questions. Learn more about the NTIA Internet Use Survey, a survey of 123,000 people in 52,000 households across the U.S. that provides in-depth insights on how people ages 3 and up use computers and the Internet. Then dive down to the Census block and tract level with the December 2018 release of the American Community Survey data on computer and Internet use.

Our scheduled speakers include: