The FCC’s 2020 Broadband Deployment Report provides an update on the state of access to broadband in the United States. The report notes that, despite the findings that more people are gaining access to broadband each year, the work in closing the digital divide is not complete.

This article provides insight into a 2020 law allowing electric co-ops in Virginia to hang fiber in existing electric easements, including those outside their service area. The law, experts say, will make it easier to facilitate broadband deployment projects in rural, unserved parts of the state.

This analysis looks at the 18 states that, as of December 2021, have restrictions against municipal broadband networks, and the five that make such networks difficult to establish. The author also examines legislation in five states intended to ease restrictions to municipal broadband.

This article focuses on alternatives to fiber—700 MHz LTE, high-frequency 4G LTE, TV white spaces, and satellite—for bringing cost-effective broadband to rural areas of the United States. The authors’ models show that deploying those technologies would require a capital investment of between $8 billion and $12 billion, and could pay for itself in about six years.

This report from September 2018 explains how millions of Americans in rural areas served by electric co-ops lack adequate broadband. It notes the market conditions that have prevented private carriers from investing in those communities and offers strategies for how electric co-ops can be part of the solution.

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This resource provides an overview of broadband access for Native communities, including disparities in fixed and wireless, barriers to access, and strategies for addressing these disparities.

This blog discusses various issues surrounding broadband connection in Native Nations, complete with examples. It argues that there is no singular prescriptive fix that will connect all Native Nations, but rather federal, state, and local governments must work with Native Nations to achieve broadband connectivity that fits their respective communities, with Indigenous people directly involved in the creation and implementation of programs designed to create solutions to meet their unique needs.

This resource argues that efforts to close the digital divide in the Black rural South have been lacking, providing support showing that high-speed internet and broadband service are often not available or affordable in these areas, and that access to these services would demonstrably improve quality of life. It recommends the establishment of a permanent and meaningful broadband benefit program and a taskforce to prevent digital redlining, among other policies.

This report examines the problem of access to high-speed internet and explores models of emerging public-private partnerships that can help solve the gaps in access. It makes a strong case that North Carolina must change its policy approaches to better encourage these partnerships, which are needed if major parts of the state are not going to be left behind economically.

A blog that examines ideas policymakers should consider as the Covid-19 pandemic has made the digital divide a large issue to tackle. Policymakers should consider analyses of broadband adoption barriers, such as cost and competitive rates.