We often say that you can’t solve a problem you don’t understand. Today, Microsoft is releasing a new Digital Equity Data Dashboard to help you better understand the gaps in economic opportunities in U.S. towns, cities, and neighborhoods. The new tool was developed by our Chief Data Science Officer Juan Lavista Ferres and Microsoft AI for Good Lab, and includes public data from the Census Bureau, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), BroadbandNow, and Microsoft’s own Broadband Usage Date. It conducts a census of the census sector, examining 20 different indicators of digital equity (e.g., broadband access, use, education, and poverty rates) to create one of the most comprehensive images of digital equity in these areas to date.
Digital equity (affordable Internet, affordable devices, and access to digital capabilities) is the foundation of empowerment, digital transformation, and economic opportunity. With states seeking to boost historic investment in digital option, Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program, Digital Equity Act, and more, it is clear that we can no longer take the immediate lens of broadband availability as a key indicator of choice. The pandemic made it clear that being digitally connected – via broadband or mobile internet – is a basic need for all citizens, and not just for school and work. For the past two years he has acted as an accelerator, promoting vital online activities, from everyday businesses and services such as banking and teleosity to ordering food at a restaurant.
The dashboard has been created with the best possible data as a resource to help policy makers identify key places and communities in their state so that they can channel funding and programmatic investments. Take Ferry County, Washington, for example, where the FCC says only 0.4% of homes do not have broadband access, which in itself provides a clear view of the region’s digital potential. But our dashboard shows that 97% of the region does not use broadband Internet. In addition, more than a third of households do not have access to broadband desktops or laptops.
The dashboard also confirms what we have known for a long time: the digital divide is not only felt in rural areas, it also has a major impact on cities. In Los Angeles County, where we are working with partner Starry to expand access to affordable broadband, more than a quarter of residents do not use broadband Internet speed, and approximately one in five homes does not have a desktop or laptop. millions from the digital world.
The dashboard provides an opportunity to analyze a city from neighborhood to neighborhood, which serves to identify the most urgent digital capital investments. Take, for example, my old neighborhood in Lindsay Heights, Milwaukee, where 65% of homes, nearly two-thirds, don’t have a desktop or laptop, and more than 50% don’t have open bandwidth. subscription. However, in the southeast, only 14% of households do not have a desktop or laptop and 16% do not have a broadband connection, a large difference within a few kilometers. By analyzing and illustrating the data at this in-depth level, legislators can better identify where time and resources should be directed to close these gaps in inequality.
We at Microsoft know that technology can change lives, but it’s available, affordable, and affordable. Research has repeatedly shown that investing in broadband infrastructure brings significant social benefits, from the formation rates of new businesses to lower unemployment rates. This board will empower policy makers to implement programs that promote sustainable and inclusive economic opportunity and meet this basic need to close the digital divide. It is crucial that states use the best available data to make targeted investments that make real progress in the long run, otherwise more and more people will be left on the wrong side of digital pathways.
Tags: COVID-19, digital access, digital inequality, digital inequality panel, rural broadband, US government
