Rep. Merski: A plan to bridge Erie's digital divide
As we mark the one-year anniversary of President Joe Biden's landmark infrastructure legislation, the bill's Affordable Connectivity Program is already delivering free or low-cost home internet service to almost half a million households across Pennsylvania.
That's the good news.
The bad news? That's less than half of all the households eligible for the groundbreaking program. Hundreds of thousands more families across Pennsylvania could sign up today and get connected at no cost — but for a range of reasons haven't yet done so.
These are families in need, effectively leaving free money on the table each month — and with it, a chance to connect to all the learning opportunities, job resources and other possibilities the digital age offers. We need to understand why — and invest in a concrete plan to fix it.
Here in Erie, like in most cities and suburbs across the commonwealth, infrastructure isn't the obstacle. According to Federal Communications Commission, every single home in Erie — and more than 96% of homes countywide — already have fast internet service available in their neighborhoods.
But fewer than 70% of homes in Erie are actually connected and subscribed. So as leaders in Harrisburg develop our plan for putting the federal infrastructure dollars to work, we need to focus just as much effort on broadband adoption in our cities as we do on broadband deployment in our rural areas.
Aggressive outreach and marketing campaigns to make more people aware of the ACP's benefits are an easy starting point. A survey earlier this year found 55% of consumers were unaware that a federal benefit program can cover the full cost of internet service for families in need. Roughly 48 million Americans are eligible for this benefit, which offers $30 a month to buy internet service.
But just getting the word out won't be enough. We also need to help unconnected Pennsylvanians develop the necessary digital skills. One in six Americans struggles with even the basics — how to check email, how to search on Google — which makes the very idea of signing up for internet service intimidating. A full 61% of Pennsylvanians without home internet say the biggest reason they don't sign up is that they're just not interested. Lack of digital fluency is a big reason why.
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We'll need an all-out blitz to overcome this skills gap. Our K-12 schools need the resources to modernize curricula and ensure every student who graduates is a "digital native" fully prepared for tomorrow's workforce. Libraries and community colleges should ramp up classes for older learners, prioritizing locations in lower-income neighborhoods where home internet connectivity rates are lowest. Community nonprofits need the funding to train Digital Navigators, which research shows to be remarkably effective at helping previously unconnected adults get online.
As the new school year advances and teachers across the state strive to help students catch up from pandemic learning losses, closing this digital divide is a make-or-break turning point for Pennsylvania's future. Students without home internet are at a huge disadvantage doing homework, researching papers, or just indulging the spark of joyful curiosity familiar to anyone who has ever gotten lost down a Wikipedia rabbit hole. Unconnected adults, too, are cut off from online job training and workforce development programs that could boost their incomes and strengthen our local economy.
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Gov. Tom Wolf's administration has taken this challenge seriously, committing grant funding to community nonprofits empowering Pennsylvania workers with the digital skills employers are desperately seeking. The infrastructure bill's flood of broadband funding now gives Pennsylvania the chance to dramatically scale up these investments statewide.
The money is available — so let’s invest it smartly in programs that will address the root of the problem, and close Pennsylvania's digital divide for good.
State Rep. Bob Merski, D-Erie, represents the 2nd Legislative District in the Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Rep. Merski outlines funds, strategy to bridge Erie's digital divide
