Page 8 - Nov-Dec18
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STATE By Molly Gilbert
Bridging the Digital Divide
Many of us are plagued with the global society that is more and more rural communities into ghost towns.
stress of constantly being “connected” interdependent and connected each However, smaller rural communities
and are looking for opportunities day. The extent of our broadband that aggressively pursue high-
to unplug and take a break from infrastructure determines the future speed broadband access are able to
continuously being available for phone vibrancy of our towns. retain their residents. Millennials in
calls, texts, and email. particular expect continuous, seamless
Digital Exclusion connectivity and demand speed and
However, many in Tennessee live reliability – no matter where they are.
in rural communities and have the Internet access can change the And, as the Baby Boomers continue
opposite problem. They are desperately expected outcomes of poverty for our to retire, the field of digital healthcare
trying to connect. Bridging the digital most vulnerable populations who run is skyrocketing. Only fiber-optic
divide boils down to access, education the risk of being on the wrong side of cable can meet the expectations of
and practical application. the digital divide. high speeds, fast downloads, and the
explosive demand for bandwidth-
Internet-Reliant Society “The worst things in life come hungry video.
free to us,” Ed Sheeran sings in
BroadbandNow.com, which has his song entitled “The A Team.” Digital Equity
been referenced by the Federal Already burdened with diminished
Communications Commission, ranks life expectancy, higher chances of According to the Federal
Tennessee as the 24th most connected health issues and an increased risk Communications Commission 2018
state and reports that 16 percent of the of becoming a victim of a crime or Broadband Deployment Report, “over
population is underserved. Thirteen violence, this part of our community 24 million Americans still lack fixed
percent of Tennesseans do not have is not only overlooked but is becoming terrestrial broadband at speeds of 25
access to 100 Mbps or faster internet forgotten. As more of our city services Mbps/3 Mbps. Rural and Tribal areas
service, and in fact the average internet are offered exclusively online, including continue to lag behind urban areas in
download speed is only 39.04 Mbps. job applications, the existing gap is mobile broadband deployment.”
(Source: https://broadbandnow.com/ widening and further isolating this
Tennessee) portion of our population. All parts of our communities – rural,
urban, even Tribal – are in critical need
People without internet access have But, digital exclusion comes with of high-speed broadband networks.
limited participation in the digital a high cost. Economic and talent Lev Gonick, Chief Information Officer,
economy and have less capacity development have been linked to Arizona State University, spoke at
to complete important and often access to technology. Public Works the recent Broadband Communities
required tasks. For a moment, consider departments across the state currently Summit about his work with the
how many times a day you look up feel the impact of an unqualified, Navajo Nation. He said the school was
something routine on the internet, like disconnected workforce. noted for who it helped succeed, rather
a phone number, address or directions. than who it excluded. “Digital equity is
Did you know Google answers 3.5 Access, Education and Practical our civil rights challenge,” he said.
billion searches worldwide per day? Application
Buy It, Borrow It, Build It
Now imagine that smartphones Access to technology, coupled with
disappeared for a day. Some of us a general familiarization (and not a Creating a citywide fiber
wouldn’t be able to function because fear of) computers, touch screens, infrastructure network seems like an
printed phone books or maps aren’t online transactions, and the cloud, overwhelming task. Like all impossible
handy anymore. Day-to-day office are critical work skills for today. On tasks, it’s best to approach it one step at
functions rely so heavily on email and a personal and professional level, for a time.
texting that if the internet or a cell all age groups, for all types of jobs, the
tower goes down, work nearly comes to possibilities of success are contingent Start with an asset inventory. As
a standstill for the day. upon access to high-speed internet. a city, you own the most valuable
Facing changing population challenges, asset, the right-of-way. You may have
Digitally Invisible the call to action for city leaders is to more assets than you know. Then, the
provide more and more cost-effective next step is to build the foundational
There are definitely benefits to not services via data-driven decisions. layer of technology infrastructure
being so tightly tethered, but local and for the fiber network, which can be
national leaders have acknowledged In a global trend of urbanization, accomplished with a conduit system.
serious ramifications for communities people are moving back into cities.
– and parts of communities – that In some cases, the densification of You could leave it to your local
are essentially digitally invisible in a the urban population is turning telecommunications company partner,
8 TPW November/December 2018
