The Infrastructure Funding and Jobs Act (IIJA) handed in 2021 dedicates $65 billion for broadband funding which may very well be integral in closing the digital divide, notably in rural areas. In line with a Pew analysis survey from 2021, those that stay in rural areas proceed to be disproportionately affected by the digital divide, falling behind their city counterparts by 5 % when it comes to dwelling broadband entry and by 9 % when it comes to smartphone entry.
Varied boundaries proceed to complicate rural Individuals’ skill to get on-line, from a scarcity of widespread knowledge on the place broadband property exist, to correct depictions and knowledge on how residents of those areas are adversely affected by the shortage of high-speed web and utility breakdowns.
On this episode of TechTank, host Nicol Turner Lee is joined by Xochitl Torres Small, the US Division of Agriculture’s Underneath Secretary for Rural Growth. On this position, she champions rural folks by serving to small cities entry the funding they should make their communities extra livable by means of infrastructure enhancements, reasonably priced housing, and modernizing important amenities like faculties, hospitals, well being care facilities, and public security stations. Collectively, they focus on ongoing work to shut the urban-rural digital divide, how IIJA funding has helped the USDA develop applications such because the ReConnect program, and the way the USDA has been working to satisfy totally different communities’ hyperlocal wants.
You possibly can hearken to the episode and subscribe to the TechTank podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Acast.
TechTank is a biweekly podcast from The Brookings Establishment exploring probably the most consequential expertise problems with our time. From synthetic intelligence and racial bias in algorithms, to Large Tech, the way forward for work, and the digital divide, TechTank takes summary concepts and makes them accessible. Moderators Dr. Nicol Turner Lee and Darrell West communicate with main expertise specialists and policymakers to share new knowledge, concepts, and coverage options to deal with the challenges of our new digital world.
