This brief reviews five key areas in which states can implement policy to expand broadband access: establishing programs, defining service speed and goals, setting up and financing, designating who can provide service, and regulating access to infrastructure.

An interview with Sunne Wright McPeak, president and CEO of the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), who discusses approaches to expanding broadband access by ensuring that customers can afford service and acquire the skills to benefit from being online.

This interview with Doug Dawson, president of CCG Consulting, focuses on the rural broadband market. The topics discussed include who provides service in those areas, what the challenges are for expansion, and how these networks are funded.

This resource examines state broadband programs nationwide, identifying nine states engaging in what it identifies as promising practices such as stakeholder outreach, planning and capacity building, and program evaluation and evolution.

This resource outlines results from a Pew Research Center survey which show that opinions on the responsibilities of schools and the government to help close the digital divide during the Covid-19 pandemic are split both on political party and socio-economic lines.

This resource explores survey results showing the digital divide between high- and low-income Americans remains despite higher ownership rates of smartphones and that people with lower incomes often rely solely on smartphones to access the internet. The author also notes that this disparity is manifest among school-age children as the homework gap, which has been exacerbated by schoolwork moving online during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This tool from Pew Charitable Trust provides mapping showing how states have expanded access to broadband through legislation.

This resource shares results of a Pew Research Center survey that explores the disproportionate relationship between people with disabilities and digital device ownership and use.