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Broadband and Education
White Papers
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Closing the Digital Divide - How Rural Broadband Benefits Communities and the Climate
In 2019, at least 14.5 million Americans lacked broadband (or high-speed internet) access, with rural communities and tribal lands bearing a disproportionate share of the burden. The inaccessibility or unaffordability of broadband leads to the “digital divide” phenomenon, the socioeconomic gaps that arise between communities with reliable access to high-speed internet and those without. This study reveals how a lack of broadband access often exacerbates the pre-existing burdens of underserved communities by impacting services that increasingly depend on the Internet, including education and healthcare.
Digital Equity for Students and Educators
The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible to ignore the nation’s digital divide, which has exacerbated deep inequities in every community across the United States. For many school districts nationwide, reliance on remote (mostly digital) instruction has continued. However, remote learning requires digital technologies, access to broadband internet, and one-to-one (1:1) computer devices, which an estimated 13.5 million school-age children (ages 5-17) lack. This digital divide threatens to widen pre-existing inequities and the opportunity to learn, putting the nation’s most underserved school-aged children at risk.
Disparities in Technology and Broadband Internet Access
Rural youth face more challenges than their urban peers in accessing the technology and connectivity needed for remote learning. Given that inadequate broadband infrastructure is a critical barrier to providing remote learning in rural areas, efforts to improve policies and advance technology must consider geographical disparities to ensure education equity.
Broadband Access and the Digital Divide
Education in the 21st century increasingly relies on strong, reliable access to the internet at school and home. However, millions of students throughout the United States cannot connect to the internet outside of school to complete coursework and actively participate in modern education. This issue exists throughout educational settings, including K-12 schools and higher education institutions, and the lack of access disproportionately affects Native American, Black, and Hispanic students, students in families with low incomes, and students in rural areas.
Rural Imperatives in Broadband Adoption and Digital Inclusion
Broadband is a critical tool for participation in economic, educational, healthcare, and other opportunities. This facilitation is particularly important in sparsely populated rural areas where internet connections enable users to obtain services that might otherwise be less readily available than in densely populated urban areas. As the value of broadband is highlighted, critical disparities in access and adoption is illuminated. And, while the “digital divide” is often defined to describe differences between rural and urban spaces or the difference between certain rural and other rural spaces, divides exist across other lines, as well. This report will explore broadband adoption rates among various demographics, present the benefits of broadband adoption within the context of various use sectors, and suggest an analytical construct for promoting greater broadband adoption and digital inclusion in rural spaces.
Publications
Toward Digital Equity: Bridging the Divide in Education – by Paul Resta
Undividing Digital Divide - by Dincay Koksal
Building Broadband Networks - by Marlyn Kemper Litt
Social Media and Education: Now the Dust Has Settled - by Neil Selwyn
Digital Learning in High Need Schools – by Heejuing An
Adapting Interactive Learning Environments to Student Competences – by Akeilu Tadesse
Website Resources
​Georgia Department of Education
Keep Americans Connected (FCC)
Broadband for K-12 Education Providers
Digital Inclusion Resources​​​
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