CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

Dr. Kimberly K. Estep

April 30, 2021

Dr. Kim Estep

• Chancellor, WGU Tennessee;

Southeast Regional Vice President

• Been with WGU Tennessee since its

launch in 2013

• 30+ years experience in higher

education

What Is The Digital Divide?

The Digital Divide is a social issue referring to the differing amount of information

between those who have access to the internet (especially broadband access) and those who do not.

Rural Electrification Administration

For eighty years, farmers, ranchers and rural communities have been working together with USDA to bring power to rural America.

Federal Interstate Highway

Programs

Illustration of peak traffic volumes based on statewide planning surveys

of the 1930s. Early freeway in Newton, Mass., circa _{1935, showing access control.} Artist's conception of an interstate highway

with at-grade crossings on a four-lane highway designed in conformity with the

Early Internet Development and

Access

Partial map of the Internet based on the Jan. 15, 2005 data found on opte.org. Each line is drawn between two nodes, representing two IP addresses. The length of the lines is indicative of the delay between those two nodes.

Source:

https://www.livescience.com/20727-internet-history.html

Uneven Access By Income

meaningful access to the internet (if they do

have internet, it’s not even fast enough to stream videos – and that presents real challenges). And this number is likely

understated.

Sources:

https://time.com/4718032/the-digital-divide/

https://broadbandnow.com/Tennessee

Less than half of households living under

$20,000 are connected to the internet.

Nearly half-a-million Tennesseans do not

have access to a wired internet connection capable of at least 25 Mbps.

Uneven Access By Geography

40.5% of Tennesseans do not have access to a

low-priced internet plan ($60/month or less).

27% do not have an internet subscription at all. 274,000 have no providers offering internet to

their residences.

The average download speed in rural areas (39.01 mbps) underperforms compared to the

national average speed (43.8 mbps). In fact, Erin, Tenn. is #4 on the top-ten list of cities with the slowest internet speeds in the country, averaging only 5 mbps. Sources: https://broadbandnow.com/Tennessee https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/ecd/ documents/broadband/Broadband_ROI_ One-Sheet.pdf https://www.techrepublic.com/article/ma ny-us-rural-areas-still-suffer-slow-internet-speeds/

Impact of COVID-19

59% of parents say that their children may face digital obstacles in schoolwork.

43% of lower-income parents with children whose schools shut down say it is likely their children will have to do schoolwork on their cellphones.

40% say their child having will have to use public Wi-Fi to finish schoolwork because there is not a reliable internet connection at home.

36% say it is at least somewhat likely their children will not be able to complete schoolwork because they do not have access to a computer at home. Source:

www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/10/59- of-u-s-parents-with-lower-incomes-say-their-child-may-face-digital-obstacles-in-schoolwork/

Impact of COVID-19

trouble paying their bills since the pandemic began.

25% of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household was laid off or lost their job

because of the coronavirus outbreak. Half of those who personally lost a job say they are still unemployed.

Source:

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/ 09/24/economic-fallout-from-covid-19- continues-to-hit-lower-income-americans-the-hardest/

Impact of COVID-19

Both flat-rate and usage-based subscribers consumed a weighted average of 482.6 GB a month in the fourth quarter, up

40% over 2019.

Impact of COVID-19

Education and Higher Ed Impacts of COVID-19

Government Response and Possible Future

WHAT CAN WE DO?

---You may have employees or colleagues without meaningful access to the

internet.

Make sure that your workplace is one of inclusion, and do not assume that

everyone has adequate or similar access to the internet or technology.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

---Every state, every city, every town is different, and there are likely data available about your specific area relative to internet access.

SOUND THE ALARM.

---Armed with information, call your local, state, and federal legislators and ask what they’re doing to help close the digital divide.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

COMPANIES, INFLUENCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

---We can’t rely only on legislators. ---We need to get our arms around this issue as a nation, as communities, as

organizations, as individuals.

What can you do? What can your company or organization do?

WHAT CAN WE DO?

DELIVER CONTENT AND HOLD EVENTS.

---

---Tap into cell service: loaning mobile hotspots

or distributing tablets that run directly off cell signals.

Create device-agnostic content: make your

content easily accessible from multiple kinds of devices at various internet speeds.

Optimize for mobile: use text messaging,

call-in options, optimize content for small screens, etc.

Source:

Hanover Research: “Strategies To Address The Digital Divide.” August 2020.

WGU Responds to COVID-19

• Equitable Access Scholarship

• For individuals who do not have access to traditional state and federal funding—such as Pell Grants and student loans

• $10,000

• Resiliency Grant

• Created to assist new students with unforeseen financial struggles (pandemic-related or not)

• $4,000

WGU and NGA Digital Divide White

Paper

To highlight the problem and drive solution-driven conversations, Western Governors University (WGU) partnered with the National Governors Association (NGA) on a white paper entitledGovernor Strategies to Expand Affordable Broadband Access.

THANK YOU

Contact: Dr. Kim Estep