Broadband costs too damn much. Real solutions may finally be coming
The US digital divide isn't just due to lack of service. In many cases, the lack of affordable options is the real problem.
The homework gap may be the key to solving our digital divide
Over the past year of distance learning, US schools have learned who has access to broadband at home and who doesn't.
The digital divide has left millions of schoolkids behind
US schools are going back to in-person learning as COVID ebbs, but the so-called homework gap will persist.
When the choice is internet or food, broadband policies aren't working
The digital divide is a massive global problem. Even in wealthy countries, families are forced to make compromises to ensure their children have the required internet connection for remote learning.
How the pandemic helped one state create a 'broadband miracle'
Mississippi could become a broadband giant.
States couldn't afford to wait for the FCC's broadband maps to improve. So they didn't
Georgia, Maine, Pennsylvania and others took mapping into their own hands, building their own granular data to pinpoint gaps in internet coverage and apply for federal funding.
'Invisible' Americans: Why millions lack broadband, and how to fix that
A fundamental flaw in closing the digital divide is not knowing where the problems actually are. We're finally about to see changes.
Here's the place that will make or break Biden's broadband plan
Biden's broadband plan faces a serious test case in Appalachia's digital divide, where a potent mix of extreme poverty, lack of infrastructure and poor data present tremendous hurdles to the president's dream of closing the broadband gap.
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Crossing the Broadband Divide
Broadband is as critical to our lives as electricity and running water. Having a reliable, speedy internet connection means the difference between participating in the digital economy or getting left behind. The coronavirus pandemic, which forced many of us to stay home, made that abundantly clear.
Yet millions of Americans still lack access to high-speed internet, a problem so big that everyone from lawmakers to agencies like the Federal Communications Commission agree that no one really knows the exact magnitude despite unreliable data that says the broadband gap has narrowed to just 14.5 million households.
That's where CNET's Crossing the Broadband Divide package comes in. This series will shine a light on the hurdles and missteps preventing people from getting broadband and profile those looking to uncover tangible solutions to this problem. The goal: Find a way forward to a world where anyone can tap into the opportunities that stem from internet access.