As Georgia prepares to administer $1.3 billion in federal BEAD grants to build new broadband networks, as well as an additional $22.4 million in federal Digital Equity Act funds, digital inclusion advocates in the Peach State are gathering in Atlanta this week to discuss how these once-in-a-generation investments can be made to ensure “every Georgia resident is fully equipped to participate in our digital revolution.”

Among those who will take part in “The Path to Digital Equity: Elevating Local Voices To Drive Impact on Digital Equity” is our own Jordan Pittman, Digital Equity Coordinator with ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks initiative.

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The event – co-hosted by Public Knowledge, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), and the Digital Equity and Opportunity Initiative – will be held on Thursday (August 29) beginning at 2 p.m. at the Fernbank Museum.

Opening remarks will be given by President and CEO of Public Knowledge Chris Lewis, who also serves on ILSR's board of directors.

Last week, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) announced a new initiative, Seven Star Communities, to highlight the excellent work being done by Native communities to “strengthen self-determination and close the digital divide through sustainable digital inclusion work.”

Over the past few years, ILSR has documented the efforts of record numbers of Native nations to take control of their own digital futures by launching Tribally-owned and controlled broadband projects.

But infrastructure is only part of the story of how Tribes are closing the digital divide in Indian Country. Increasingly, Native nations are also advancing digital inclusion priorities and programs that foreground self-determination and sovereignty.

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Seven Star Communities aims to recognize and amplify these digital equity initiatives while supporting the growth of a vibrant community of Indigenous digital equity practitioners. The initiative was developed in partnership with AMERIND Critical Infrastructure, a Tribally-owned company that supports Tribal broadband deployment, and informed by the expertise of a group of advisors and mentors active in Tribal broadband and digital equity.

Felix McGowan, Director of AMERIND Critical Infrastructure, notes that the initiative recognizes “Native communities who are adapting to the new digital environment. They have been adapting digital inclusion efforts in innovative ways and practicing effective, sustainable self-governance.”

After two years enmeshed in the unglamorous work of coalition-building, speed test data collection, and pushing state leaders to invest in better telecommunication infrastructure across Oakland’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods, digital equity advocates in the East Bay city are finally seeing the fruits of their labor pay off.

The city was recently awarded a $15 million grant from the state’s $2 billion dollar Federal Funding Account, administered by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

The grant will fund the construction of a city-owned, open-access, hybrid middle mile/last mile fiber network – one of a half-dozen grant awards the CPUC approved in the first round of funding, most of which went to support community broadband initiatives.

Courtesy of federal Rescue Plan dollars, the infusion of cash will allow the city to deploy nearly 13 miles of new middle mile 144-count fiber, upgrade almost 12 miles of existing city-owned fiber, and add 9 miles of new last mile fiber connections. As the city’s network is built, it will be connected to the state’s new massive open access middle mile network now under construction.

The FFA grants are part of California’s larger Broadband For All initiative, a $6 billion effort aimed at seeding competition and expanding broadband access across the Golden State.

The Oakland project not only paves the way for the city to connect 14 community anchor institutions (CAIs) and nine public safety buildings, it will also expand high-speed Internet access to thousands of unserved and underserved addresses in West and East Oakland.

In the latest episode of the Building for Digital Equity Podcast, ILSR's Digital Equity Coordinator Jordan Pittman sits down with Dana Northcraft, Natalie Birnbaum, and Emily Schacter from the Reproductive Health Initiative for Telehealth Equity and Solutions (RHITES).

The trio of guests from the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit begin by connecting the dots between broadband access and the emergence of telehealth as a way to improve health outcomes and deliver significant healthcare cost-savings.

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From there, they focus on "maternity and reproductive healthcare deserts," as well as the language and affordability barriers that severely limit the ability of many communities and financially-strained households to reap the benefits of telehealth.  

The episode concludes with a call to action as Dana, Natalie, and Emily make the case for why access to broadband should be seen as not just a critical utility for participation in a digital world, but as an important human right essential for achieving better health outcomes.

Tune in below:

Inline image of telehealth consultation courtesy of RHITES website

With historic levels of federal funds flowing into states to build broadband infrastructure and implement digital equity plans, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is looking to cultivate a new generation of broadband scholars, practitioners, and advocates working on broadband access, adoption, and equity issues.

To that end, Benton is putting out a call for prospective fellows through its Opportunity Fund Fellowship program, seeking resumes and project proposals focused on identifying obstacles to broadband access.

The deadline to submit proposals is August 31.

According to Benton Institute's Vice President of Programs Revati Prasad, the questions the program is most interested in exploring are:

“What obstacles prevent people from subscribing to broadband? How does the cost of broadband service impact adoption? Does a concern for privacy and safety dissuade people from using the Internet? How might climate change adversely impact building broadband infrastructure? What national or state policies could delay or disrupt broadband deployment and/or digital equity efforts?”

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However, Prasad was quick to add, prospective fellows shouldn’t consider those questions to be exhaustive and is encouraging interested applicants to “propose other approaches and questions to the overarching theme of barriers to building and using broadband networks,” adding that the program will “especially welcome applications that focus on historically marginalized communities.”

The new season of the Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) podcast returns this week with another episode focused on the frontline work of digital equity advocates across the nation.

This week’s episode features a conversation with Walter Gabino Rendon, the Chief Program Officer at the STEM Alliance.

Walter shares insights into the organization's efforts to bridge the digital divide in Westchester County, New York, a region often perceived as affluent but with significant underserved needs. They discuss the development and implementation of a CRM platform designed to improve the digital navigator experience, streamline client interactions, and collect vital data.

If you missed the latest podcast (or any of the previous ones), below you can listen to the most recent episode (with new episodes posted every other Thursday). Or you can put this feed into your podcast app to tune in.

And don’t forget to visit our B4DE podcast page to listen to previous episodes, which include featured guests:

Abraham Camez, a passionate digital navigator for Hoopa Valley's Acorn Wireless ISP navigating digital equity in the community.

Shaun Glaze, Research Director, and Chris Webb, Digital Equity Lead, from the Black Brilliance Research Project discuss a unique research approach that drives toward solutions tailored by and for the community.

Pierrette Dagg, the Director of Research for the MERIT Network, discusses the importance of using research to inform community engagement and digital equity strategies.

Paul Goodman, from the Center for Accessible Technology (C4AT), delves into the crucial work of assistive technology solutions, and efforts to ensure web accessibility.

Tomorrow, Gigi Sohn – one of the nation's premier broadband-for-all advocates and Executive Director of the American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB) – will join ILSR's Community Broadband Networks team and an emerging network of local digital inclusion champions in San Antonio to delve into what it takes to create an ecosystem for digital opportunity.

Hosted by the Digital Inclusion Alliance of San Antonio (DIASA) and the Texas Digital Equity Network (Texas DEN), the free event - "Eco-Bytes: Weaving the Digital Opportunity Web" - will be held on June 27, 2024 at the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) headquarters beginning at 8 am.

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Similar to other ILSR Urban Digital Bootcamps in other cities across the nation, the agenda is packed with informative content designed to support community leaders working to close the digital divide in San Antonio.

The day will include interactive activities and opportunities for engaging conversations, as well as a fireside chat with Gigi and Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks Initiative Director and event co-organizer Christopher Mitchell.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to visit San Antonio and the growing network of connectivity champions doing the important advocacy work for telecommunication policies and infrastructure investments that promote a healthy democracy and a just society," Sohn said.

“It’s vital that we foster community centric solutions that ensure everyone has access to the technologies necessary to fully participate in our society, our economy, our health care and education systems."

Event Highlights:

In case you missed it, on Monday we streamed our second Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) event of the year. The focus this time: "Pathways To Affordable Connectivity" in the absence of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

You can watch the livestream in its entirety below.

As expected, the agenda delivered a number of gems for those working in the trenches to bridge the digital divide.

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Co-hosted once again by Pamela Rosales with the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and Director for the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks Initiative Christopher Mitchell, #B4DE began with a concise and candid acknowledgement of the moment: namely, the collapse of the ACP.

However, despite the challenge the loss of that program poses, #B4DE offered a lineup of digital inclusion practitioners providing a grounds-eye view of how they and their organizations are continuing the work of knocking down affordability barriers.

The three lightning round speakers covered devices and the creation of "device ecosystems." Attendees heard from Dave Sevick, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania-based Computer Reach; Ashley Martinez, Digital Equity Manager with Free Geek in Portland, OR; and Scot Henley, Executive Director of Digitunity based in North Conway, NH. Click on their names below to see their slide decks.

On a map, the Crenshaw District is a 2.9 square-mile neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles, home to nearly 30,000 mostly black residents.

In the popular imagination, Crenshaw is the backdrop for the Oscar-nominated movie "Boyz In the Hood" – the real life neighborhood that cultivated the likes of former Los Angeles Mayor Thomas Bradley; rappers-turned-actors Ice Cube and Ice T; and the late rapper/entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle.

But on the streets of Crenshaw, a transformative vision is unfolding – an initiative local leaders describe as “a reparative development project.”

The idea is to inspire and empower neighborhood residents with strategic investments rather than displace them through gentrification. The effort is being led by Destination Crenshaw, a nonprofit community organization established in 2017 to celebrate the history and culture of Black Los Angeles.

The most visible part of the vision is to create the largest Black public art project in the nation along Crenshaw Boulevard, the 1.3 mile spine of the neighborhood – or what Destination Crenshaw describes as an “open air museum” centered around “pocket parks” and a “comprehensive streetscape design” that will feature commissioned murals and sculptures from local Black artists.