WE NEED TO EXPAND BROADBAND
By Rani Chor
With the number of unemployment claims steadily rising amidst the coronavirus pandemic, broadband internet access may soon become a luxury that families won’t be able to afford. Rural America and low income families have been hit the hardest by the sudden switch to a primarily online curriculum that is often dependent on internet access. A lack of reliable and affordable broadband service has put students at risk of falling behind academically, however stakes are even higher now that it is unclear how long online distance learning will last.
The definition that follows is based on Federal Communications Commission (FCC) benchmarks for broadband:
- Has download speeds of at least 25mbps
- Has upload speeds of at least 3mbps
- Is delivered by a fixed ground based system
In other words, without sufficient broadband width millions of children are limited to a classroom environment and left to miss months of distance learning while falling even further behind their peers.
Even before the coronavirus arrived in America, we were failing to provide everyone with access to reliable broadband. Although the “homework gap” in America is well documented, the past couple of months are once again bringing the urban-rural digital divide back into the national conversation and reminding us that we need to bridge this gap.
As noted in the National Children’s Campaign issue section on Child Welfare:
The harm of childhood poverty can last a lifetime. It puts children at risk for intergenerational cycles of poverty due to the risk of homelessness and hunger that are exacerbated by a lack of resources devoted to educational advancement and quality health care.
An announcement made recently by the USDA regarding the “Reconnect Program”—established in 2018 to fund broadband internet in rural America— emphasizes the necessity of internet access and that rural, low income students of all ages should have the same digital tools and self-paced learning options as urban students. Sonny Perdue, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, stated during a virtual conference that, “The need for rural broadband has never been more apparent than it is now – as our nation manages the coronavirus national emergency. Access to telehealth services, remote learning for school children, and remote business operations all require access to broadband.”
Broadband—and specifically fiber—is the foundational element that creates an America with the resources needed to power children and their communities into the future. I shudder to think about the chaos that would have ensued if I did not have access to the internet during my own period of distance learning. The House of Representatives has passed legislation called The HEROES Act, which is pending in the Senate, to provide emergency broadband to families and children in need. This is the first of many concrete steps that Congress should take, and I urge readers to contact their Senators to vote on the bill. By making broadband widely available, we are promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in healthier, more digitally empowered communities.