Doing
what
it
takes
to
close
the digital
divide
One company’s ambitious
approach to creating
unlimited possibilities.
Alisha Jones, a student and single mother of two in Wilmington, Del., knows that for many low-income families there’s a difficult choice to be made about which services are essential—including high-speed internet.
Fortunately, Jones hasn’t had to make that choice because she signed up for the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides a discount of up to $30 per month ($75 per month in Tribal areas) to eligible families to pay for internet service. She used her subsidy to purchase Internet Essentials from Comcast, which has supported the ACP since the day it was launched almost two years ago. Internet Essentials, which began in 2011, is now part of Comcast’s newest digital equity initiative, called Project UP. Through that effort, Comcast has committed $1 billion over 10 years to connect tens of millions of people in under-resourced communities to the internet and train them in digital skills.
Internet Essentials has enabled Jones to become certified in medical billing and coding online. Her older son, a college freshman, was able to access eBooks that helped him get a jumpstart on his psychology major, and her younger son, who has ADHD and autism, connects virtually with the healthcare specialists he needs who are located hours away.
“Honestly, it became a lifeline,” Jones said of the free internet access.
Honestly, it became a lifeline.
What can close the digital divide?
Addressing the digital divide—the inequity between those with access to computers and the broadband internet and those without—requires meaningful investment in both giving people the tools they need and teaching them how to use those tools. This two-pronged approach is how Comcast has long approached the digital divide and how the company urges policymakers to address the issue.
Of course no one organization can solve this issue alone; public and private collaboration is key according to Broderick Johnson, Comcast’s executive vice president of public policy and executive vice president of digital equity.
He lauds the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Both have made meaningful strides in creating more opportunities for broad swaths of the nation.
However, Johnson explained, there’s still more work to be done, including funding for the ACP. “Congress and the Biden administration must work together in a bipartisan way to extend the program so that tens of millions of ACP-eligible households can continue to benefit.” Currently, the ACP is set to expire once its current funding runs out, which could happen in early 2024.
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92% of jobs require digital skills, yet nearly 1/3 of American workers lack opportunities to build these skills.
What can close the digital divide?
Addressing the digital divide—the inequity between those with access to computers and the broadband internet and those without—requires meaningful investment in both giving people the tools they need and teaching them how to use those tools. This two-pronged approach is how Comcast has long approached the digital divide and how the company urges policymakers to address the issue.
Of course no one organization can solve this issue alone; public and private collaboration is key according to Broderick Johnson, Comcast’s executive vice president of public policy and executive vice president of digital equity.
%
92% of jobs require digital skills, yet nearly 1/3 of American workers lack opportunities to build these skills.
He lauds the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Both have made meaningful strides in creating more opportunities for broad swaths of the nation.
However, Johnson explained, there’s still more work to be done, including funding for the ACP. “Congress and the Biden administration must work together in a bipartisan way to extend the program so that tens of millions of ACP-eligible households can continue to benefit.” Currently, the ACP is set to expire once its current funding runs out, which could happen in early 2024.
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Why isn’t everyone connected?
The digital divide is multifaceted with no single issue preventing all communities from accessing the internet; different communities face different connectivity challenges. For example, immigrant communities may deal with language barriers within the community. The younger, digitally savvy generation may not speak their elders’ language well enough to teach digital skills, according to Thoai Nguyen, CEO of the Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition (SEAMAAC). That organization is a Project UP nonprofit partner that advocates for marginalized communities, highlighting just one of the many potential hurdles.
To pinpoint other barriers to digital access, Comcast partnered with the Boston Consulting Group for a study, “A Human Approach to Closing the Digital Divide.” The study found that a lack of devices, digital skills, interest in the technology, and a lack of trust in the government or companies providing services all contribute to the divide.
With digital skills, the divide begins early. Young people, particularly in communities of color, are not given adequate training in technology to compete in the 21st-century economy, said Jessica Santana, CEO of another Project UP partner, America On Tech (AOT). That nonprofit is committed to decreasing the economic and racial wealth gap in underestimated communities. “AP computer science classes are 12 times more common in predominantly white schools than in schools with the highest percentage of students of color,” she said. “I want people to know that genius is equally distributed and opportunity is not.”
This inequitable distribution of opportunity has significant consequences. A recent report found overwhelming demand for digital skills in today’s economy: Over 90 percent of current job postings require digital skills. However, the report showed that nearly one-third of American workers do not have foundational digital skills, and workers from underrepresented communities fall disproportionately into this category. Simply put, access to the internet is access to possibilities, essential to everyone.
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Jobs that require even 1 digital skill can earn an average of 23% more than jobs requiring no digital skills.
Why isn’t everyone connected?
The digital divide is multifaceted with no single issue preventing all communities from accessing the internet; different communities face different connectivity challenges. For example, immigrant communities may deal with language barriers within the community. The younger, digitally savvy generation may not speak their elders’ language well enough to teach digital skills, according to Thoai Nguyen, CEO of the Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition (SEAMAAC). That organization is a Project UP nonprofit partner that advocates for marginalized communities, highlighting just one of the many potential hurdles.
To pinpoint other barriers to digital access, Comcast partnered with the Boston Consulting Group for a study, “A Human Approach to Closing the Digital Divide.” The study found that a lack of devices, digital skills, interest in the technology, and a lack of trust in the government or companies providing services all contribute to the divide.
%
Jobs that require even 1 digital skill can earn an average of 23% more than jobs requiring no digital skills.
With digital skills, the divide begins early. Young people, particularly in communities of color, are not given adequate training in technology to compete in the 21st-century economy, said Jessica Santana, CEO of another Project UP partner, America On Tech (AOT). That nonprofit is committed to decreasing the economic and racial wealth gap in underestimated communities. “AP computer science classes are 12 times more common in predominantly white schools than in schools with the highest percentage of students of color,” she said. “I want people to know that genius is equally distributed and opportunity is not.”
This inequitable distribution of opportunity has significant consequences. A recent report found overwhelming demand for digital skills in today’s economy: Over 90 percent of current job postings require digital skills. However, the report showed that nearly one-third of American workers do not have foundational digital skills, and workers from underrepresented communities fall disproportionately into this category. Simply put, access to the internet is access to possibilities, essential to everyone.
What is being done?
Comcast is working to empower as many communities as possible with digital access. Since 2011, Comcast has connected more than 10 million individuals to the internet at home through their Internet Essentials program. In 2020, the company also launched Lift Zones, working with thousands of nonprofit organizations and city leaders to provide free WiFi access inside neighborhood community centers to support those who can’t connect at home. Already, Comcast has launched more than 1,250 Lift Zones.
Expanding programming even further, Comcast has invested millions of dollars in dozens of nonprofits across the nation to create a network of digital navigators, individuals trained in community-based organizations who help get people connected. In classroom settings and through one-on-one instruction, digital navigators offer help with accessing government resources, signing up for internet service, acquiring and setting up devices, practicing email and training in video conference tools. Additionally, recently Comcast announced a $25 million award to hundreds of community organizations to help provide skills building, job training, and other career development offerings for a full spectrum of learners, from high school students to adults.
Johnson is particularly proud of Project UP’s community-forward approach. “We partner with thousands of community-based organizations across the country to address skill gaps and teach people how to use the internet.” These trusted organizations are entrenched in the communities they serve and familiar with the languages and needs of their specific community.
And this approach is working. More than one in three participants in a digital navigator program found a new job or earned a higher income and more than half of participants reported receiving better healthcare.
We partner with thousands of community-based organizations across the country to address skill gaps and teach people how to use the internet.
What is being done?
Comcast is working to empower as many communities as possible with digital access. Since 2011, Comcast has connected more than 10 million individuals to the internet at home through their Internet Essentials program. In 2020, the company also launched Lift Zones, working with thousands of nonprofit organizations and city leaders to provide free WiFi access inside neighborhood community centers to support those who can’t connect at home. Already, Comcast has launched more than 1,250 Lift Zones.
Expanding programming even further, Comcast has invested millions of dollars in dozens of nonprofits across the nation to create a network of digital navigators, individuals trained in community-based organizations who help get people connected. In classroom settings and through one-on-one instruction, digital navigators offer help with accessing government resources, signing up for internet service, acquiring and setting up devices, practicing email and training in video conference tools. Additionally, recently Comcast announced a $25 million award to hundreds of community organizations to help provide skills building, job training, and other career development offerings for a full spectrum of learners, from high school students to adults.
We partner with thousands of community-based organizations across the country to address skill gaps and teach people how to use the internet.
Johnson is particularly proud of Project UP’s community-forward approach. “We partner with thousands of community-based organizations across the country to address skill gaps and teach people how to use the internet.” These trusted organizations are entrenched in the communities they serve and familiar with the languages and needs of their specific community.
And this approach is working. More than one in three participants in a digital navigator program found a new job or earned a higher income and more than half of participants reported receiving better healthcare.
What’s next?
Project UP’s 10-year, $1 billion commitment runs from 2021 to 2031, and Johnson has a vision for what the digital divide will look like by that end date.
“In 2031, we hope to have connected millions more people to the internet and narrowed the digital divide to a mere crack,” he said. Comcast hopes to create “a greater coalition of partners” working together through Project UP spreading the empowerment of digital access and skills through more community organizations, churches, schools, and individual digital navigator volunteers.
Johnson underscored the ultimate goal of Project UP, saying that digital connection is what unlocks opportunity today. “We hope to help create a world of unlimited possibilities for all.”
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More than 1 in 3 participants in a Project UP digital navigator program found a new job or earned a higher income.