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Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Building For Digital Equity 'Pathways To Affordability' Reprise
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In case you missed it, on Monday we streamed our second Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) event of the year. The focus this time: "Pathways To Affordable Connectivity" in the absence of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).
You can watch the livestream in its entirety below.
As expected, the agenda delivered a number of gems for those working in the trenches to bridge the digital divide.
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Co-hosted once again by Pamela Rosales with the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and Director for the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks Initiative Christopher Mitchell, #B4DE began with a concise and candid acknowledgement of the moment: namely, the collapse of the ACP.
However, despite the challenge the loss of that program poses, #B4DE offered a lineup of digital inclusion practitioners providing a grounds-eye view of how they and their organizations are continuing the work of knocking down affordability barriers.
The three lightning round speakers covered devices and the creation of "device ecosystems." Attendees heard from Dave Sevick, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania-based Computer Reach; Ashley Martinez, Digital Equity Manager with Free Geek in Portland, OR; and Scot Henley, Executive Director of Digitunity based in North Conway, NH. Click on their names below to see their slide decks.
After the lightning rounds Greg Guice – Chief Policy Officer with the Vernonburg Group – took center screen to discuss Universal Services Fund (USF) reform and ways it could be leveraged to pay for an ACP-like program permanently. His slides can be found here.
The keynote, delivered by Director of Advocacy and Planning with GPSN Ray Lopez-Chang shared inspiring insights on what community leaders in Los Angeles are doing to address affordability and how "infrastructure access" is a vital part of digital equity work. Slides for Lopez-Chang's keynote can be found here.
Watch the entire event below:
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