The $100 billion high speed broadband bill reintroduced by Rep James Clyburn is aimed at closing the digital divide. This is both timely and significant, as the FCC estimates at least 21 million Americans currently may not have access to high speed internet, including as many as 1 in 4 rural households and 1 in 3 households on tribal lands. This puts students and workers in those areas at a severe disadvantage through no fault of their own. That is the digital divide that H.R.1783 aims to correct over the next five years.
FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit Program Addresses Digital Divide with $50 Monthly Internet Subsidy — Sort Of
The FCC’s just announced Emergency Broadband Benefit program addresses the digital divide with a $50 monthly internet subsidy aimed at assisting low-income individuals gaining temporary internet access. Futurum’s Shelly Kramer explores the program, the benefits, and the challenges ahead in this initiative to breach the digital divide in the US.