Picking Priorities in the Digital Divide

2010-07-22
By David Sutphen

As minority unemployment rates consistently hover in double digits, I can’t help but think about Dr. King’s message of the “urgency of now”. Today more than ever, communities of color, many of low and moderate-income, continue to disproportionately lack access to the very tools that will help address challenges and lead to advancement. In the current digital age, broadband is a critical tool that can help empower and transform our communities, yet too many African Americans remain disconnected.
Although a digital divide remains, there are some encouraging signs that we're making real progress.
 
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, “Mobile Access 2010”, six in ten Americans go online wirelessly using a laptop or cell phone and African Americans are leading the way. The study claims that nearly two-thirds of African Americans (64%) are wireless internet users and 87% of us use our cell phones to connected. So the challenge in overcoming the current digital divide isn't about whether we see value in the internet, it’s about the opportunity to access it in more impactful ways that will help us connect to employment, health, education and other resources our communities need. It’s about getting connected to tools our cell phones can’t provide.
 
The Obama Administration’s support of a national broadband plan that would grant access to the 100 million Americans that remain disconnected is a clear sign that they understand the challenges that communities like ours are facing in the current digital era. However, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recent moves to regulate the Internet with rules that have been used to regulate the phone system for the past 70 years are clear signs that the implementation of the national broadband plan is getting bumped down on list of priorities. Plainly said, the promise of materializing a national broadband plan to empower our communities is taking a back seat to a discussion about who can regulate the process and how.
 
What does this mean for all of us? It means that the FCC’s authority could very well lead to policies that will force the private sector to spend more money on regulatory process and ultimately pay for it by billing it consumers. It also means they won't be in a hurry to invest money where it needs to be concentrated – in building broadband infrastructure which would create jobs and offer online resources that we need.
 
!n a clear sign they too are worried about the dangers of the FCC putting regulatory authority before the national broadband plan, leaders from eight national civil rights and labor organizations including the NAACP and the National Urban League issued a letter urging Congressional leaders to take heed. The  letter calls on leaders to expedite legislation clarifying the FCC’s authority to protect an Open Internet and apply Universal Service funding to broadband so the process of building resources to close the digital divide doesn't get lost in the power shuffle.
 
As anyone who grew up knowing the NAACP and the Urban League would know, when they weigh in on an issue it's because we have a situation on our hands. So if we're ignoring the actions of the FCC or just plain comfortable with using our cell phones to get online, let's take a step back and remember the urgency of now in this case is about the jobs and advancement opportunities communities can't access until we prioritize getting them connected.   

Sutphen is the co-chair of the Internet Innovation Alliance, a broad-based coalition of business and non-profit organizations that aim to ensure every American, regardless of race, income or geography, has access to the critical tool that is broadband Internet.