The new year has finally arrived! Before the ball dropped and 2022 began, however, Thrive’s Regional Broadband Alliance wrapped up 2021 with an energizing meeting focused on broadband accessibility and what is on the horizon when it comes to continuing to expand access in the coming months.
Topics of discussion included bridging fiber gaps in rural communities, what is being done on the federal level to make devices accessible to every American, new resources leaders and organizations in the greater Chattanooga region can tap into to “connect their communities” in the new year, and what to expect when the Emergency Broadband Benefit is replaced with the Affordable Connectivity Program.
“We saw throughout the pandemic that there’s really not a future for most American workers unless they have broadband access at home. Even if their job does not go 100% rural, there are going to be times when they’re going to need to work from home.”
The new year has arrived, but that is not stopping us from continuing to celebrate the steps we took in 2021 as we continued working towards achieving digital equity in the greater Chattanooga region. However, there is still a lot of work to be done because a digital divide still exists.
“The reality is that while high-income homes have ubiquitous computer access, 40% of low-income adults lack a desktop or a laptop computer.”
Before we dive headfirst into our projects for 2022, it’s important that we take time to look back at the monumental advances that were made last year. Dus Rogers of Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative (FTC) shared with us that his organization is 42 homes away from 100% of its service area, which consists of 22,000 members in northeast Alabama, having access to fiber. Currently, 69.5% of those residents have fiber, and FTC expects that number to continue to increase.
Andrew Heaton, Outreach Director for the Office of Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, shared about the work being done on the federal level to ensure that every American has access to the devices they need to succeed in school and work. In 2021, billions of dollars from the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Bill were designated to address the digital divide. More money could be on the way. The Device Access for Every American Act is included in the Build Back Better plan that is currently being discussed in Congress. As written, this bill would provide $400 vouchers for low-income families to purchase laptops and tablets. We’ll keep you updated on what happens as this bill continues making its way through Congress.
“When we’re talking about doing your job, doing homework, a smartphone is not good enough.”
Speakers from the November 2021 Regional Broadband Alliance meeting included:
Dus Rogers, with Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative, who spoke about bridging fiber gaps in rural areas
Andrew Heaton, of Senator Raphael Warnock’s office, who talked about what is being done in Congress to ensure every American has device access
Georgia Caruthers, of TVA, shared about Connected Communities, which will provide new resources designed to help smaller communities get connected
Geoff Millener, of The Enterprise Center, who wrapped up the meeting by providing updates on the Emergency Broadband Registrations Map and looked ahead at what is to come when the EBB transitions to the Affordable Connectivity Program.
“Unless every American has access to broadband, to the internet in a way that they can work and study in a productive and timely manner, just getting broadband alone is not going to be enough.”
As we begin this new year, Thrive is grateful to its stakeholders in the Regional Broadband Alliance for their hard work in helping find new ways to address the digital divide in the tri-state region in 2021. We cannot wait to see what all they do in the months ahead as we work together to tackle this major challenge that our region, like many others across the country, is facing.
Join the Broadband Alliance network in 2022.
“This is an opportunity to get individuals in your communities internet access at home through a local provider and get those federal dollars into your local community month over month.”
Ready to get involved? Email smillsaps@thriveregion.org