As Digital Inclusion Week 2024 swings into action, frontline digital inclusion practitioners from across the nation will come together for a timely Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) livestream event today that focuses on “Coalition Building for Success.”

The popular (and free) virtual gathering – co-hosted by Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) – will go live today from 3 to 4:15 PM ET.

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For Digital equity advocates or interested guests who have yet register for the event, there is still time to register here.

The third #B4DE of the year will delve into how coalitions are finding success in pushing the digital equity movement forward as Digital Equity Act grant programs are being established.

The keynote speaker for today’s livestream will be Georgia Savage, Deputy Director of #OaklandUndivided, who helped lead the way in securing $38.5 million in grant funding that will expand broadband infrastructure and distribute Internet-connected devices to thousands of low-income households across East and West Oakland, California.

As ILSR continues to support local communities in solving Internet connectivity challenges, the Community Broadband Networks (CBN) team has kicked off a new initiative deep in the heart of Texas we are calling the Digital Opportunity Lab.

It mixes elements from the on-going Tribal Broadband Bootcamps with ingredients from CBN’s community engagement work to create a customizable-program in support of digital equity coalitions and community leaders amid a national effort to unlock the participatory benefits of broadband for all.

“Our focus isn’t on telling communities what they should or shouldn’t do,” ILSR Community Broadband Networks Director Christopher Mitchell explained. “We zero in on demystifying the technology involved, illuminating the digital landscape as it functions today, and share what we’ve learned and distilled after nearly two decades of documenting what local communities are doing to bridge multiple digital divides.”

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Digital Opportunity Lab Debut

In a colonia outside of Pharr, Texas – nestled in the Rio Grande Valley – the first Digital Opportunity Lab convened last week with a focus on high school-aged students.

With Digital Inclusion Week 2024 only a month away, we are encouraging digital equity advocates to save the date for the next Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) livestream event.

The popular (and free) virtual gathering – co-hosted by Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) – will be held on October 7, 2024 from 3 to 4:15 PM ET.

You can register for the event here.

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For our third #B4DE of the year, the theme will be “Coalition Building for Success” and will bring together hundreds of frontline digital inclusion practitioners from across the nation to delve into how coalitions are finding success in pushing the digital equity movement forward, especially as Digital Equity Act grant programs are being established.

As with the previous #B4DE events, the Digital Inclusion Week livestream will once again be sponsored by UTOPIA Fiber and co-hosted by NDIA’s Pamela Rosales and ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative Director Christopher Mitchell.

As the nation observes Labor Day, Public Knowledge is gearing up to celebrate the work of four Internet champions who have made significant contributions “on behalf of the public interest to help everyone connect and communicate.”

To that end, Public Knowledge recently announced the award winners for the 21st Annual IP3 Awards, which will be held on September 26th at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington D.C.

Among the four award recipients is Angela Siefer, Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA). She will be presented with the Internet Protocol Award this year, recognizing her as a national leader of the digital equity movement.

In announcing the awards, Public Knowledge noted how Angela has been a trailblazer “in the field we now call ‘digital inclusion.’”

The announcement went on to recount the early days of her notable career – “starting with setting up computer labs in underserved areas and managing local digital inclusion programs” and how Angela’s “first-hand knowledge” led to her being called on to consult for the US Department of Commerce as well as testify before Congress on a number of occasions.

In 2015, as Angela saw “the growing field needed its own place to build best practices and community,” she focused her attention on becoming “the founding executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, which advances digital equity by supporting community programs and equipping policymakers to act,” the announcement read in explaining why she is being honored.

Three other award recipients were also announced:

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks is being honored with the President’s Award for his work “from combating Internet inequality to advocating for diversity in employment, entrepreneurship, and media ownership.”

As Georgia prepares to administer $1.3 billion in federal BEAD grants to build new broadband networks, as well as an additional $22.4 million in federal Digital Equity Act funds, digital inclusion advocates in the Peach State are gathering in Atlanta this week to discuss how these once-in-a-generation investments can be made to ensure “every Georgia resident is fully equipped to participate in our digital revolution.”

Among those who will take part in “The Path to Digital Equity: Elevating Local Voices To Drive Impact on Digital Equity” is our own Jordan Pittman, Digital Equity Coordinator with ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks initiative.

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The event – co-hosted by Public Knowledge, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), and the Digital Equity and Opportunity Initiative – will be held on Thursday (August 29) beginning at 2 p.m. at the Fernbank Museum.

Opening remarks will be given by President and CEO of Public Knowledge Chris Lewis, who also serves on ILSR's board of directors.

Last week, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) announced a new initiative, Seven Star Communities, to highlight the excellent work being done by Native communities to “strengthen self-determination and close the digital divide through sustainable digital inclusion work.”

Over the past few years, ILSR has documented the efforts of record numbers of Native nations to take control of their own digital futures by launching Tribally-owned and controlled broadband projects.

But infrastructure is only part of the story of how Tribes are closing the digital divide in Indian Country. Increasingly, Native nations are also advancing digital inclusion priorities and programs that foreground self-determination and sovereignty.

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Seven Star Communities aims to recognize and amplify these digital equity initiatives while supporting the growth of a vibrant community of Indigenous digital equity practitioners. The initiative was developed in partnership with AMERIND Critical Infrastructure, a Tribally-owned company that supports Tribal broadband deployment, and informed by the expertise of a group of advisors and mentors active in Tribal broadband and digital equity.

Felix McGowan, Director of AMERIND Critical Infrastructure, notes that the initiative recognizes “Native communities who are adapting to the new digital environment. They have been adapting digital inclusion efforts in innovative ways and practicing effective, sustainable self-governance.”

After two years enmeshed in the unglamorous work of coalition-building, speed test data collection, and pushing state leaders to invest in better telecommunication infrastructure across Oakland’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods, digital equity advocates in the East Bay city are finally seeing the fruits of their labor pay off.

The city was recently awarded a $15 million grant from the state’s $2 billion dollar Federal Funding Account, administered by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

The grant will fund the construction of a city-owned, open-access, hybrid middle mile/last mile fiber network – one of a half-dozen grant awards the CPUC approved in the first round of funding, most of which went to support community broadband initiatives.

Courtesy of federal Rescue Plan dollars, the infusion of cash will allow the city to deploy nearly 13 miles of new middle mile 144-count fiber, upgrade almost 12 miles of existing city-owned fiber, and add 9 miles of new last mile fiber connections. As the city’s network is built, it will be connected to the state’s new massive open access middle mile network now under construction.

The FFA grants are part of California’s larger Broadband For All initiative, a $6 billion effort aimed at seeding competition and expanding broadband access across the Golden State.

The Oakland project not only paves the way for the city to connect 14 community anchor institutions (CAIs) and nine public safety buildings, it will also expand high-speed Internet access to thousands of unserved and underserved addresses in West and East Oakland.

In the latest episode of the Building for Digital Equity Podcast, ILSR's Digital Equity Coordinator Jordan Pittman sits down with Dana Northcraft, Natalie Birnbaum, and Emily Schacter from the Reproductive Health Initiative for Telehealth Equity and Solutions (RHITES).

The trio of guests from the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit begin by connecting the dots between broadband access and the emergence of telehealth as a way to improve health outcomes and deliver significant healthcare cost-savings.

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From there, they focus on "maternity and reproductive healthcare deserts," as well as the language and affordability barriers that severely limit the ability of many communities and financially-strained households to reap the benefits of telehealth.  

The episode concludes with a call to action as Dana, Natalie, and Emily make the case for why access to broadband should be seen as not just a critical utility for participation in a digital world, but as an important human right essential for achieving better health outcomes.

Tune in below:

Inline image of telehealth consultation courtesy of RHITES website