Mission | California Public Utilities Commission Proceedings | Corporate Community Investments | Small Business Development | Environmental Justice | Diversity in the Legal Profession | Pro Bono and Community Investment | Bridging the Digital Divide | Increasing Transparency in Corporate America

What is the Digital Divide?

The “digital divide” refers to differences across demographic groups in their access to and use of information technology, particularly computers and internet access.

In a 1999, Department of Commerce report entitled “Falling Through the Net,” former Assistant Secretary of Commerce Larry Irving stated that the issue of technology access “is now one of America 's leading economic and civil rights issues.” Greenlining believes that Irving and many others are correct in this assertion. As society becomes more dependent on digital technologies, in more aspects of everyday life, communities lacking access to those technologies will be at a distinct disadvantage with respect to accessing education, communication, health care, and employment.

Unless there is a specific effort in California to address the ever-increasing gap between those communities with access to information technology and those without, many low-income and minority individuals will be left behind.

Where does the Digital Divide Exist?

A person living in a household that earns more than $75,000 a year is three times more likely to have internet access than someone living in a household that earns less than $30,000 a year.

Nationally, 50% of European-Americans have internet access, compared to 36% of African Americans.

Overall, 29% of Hispanic adults have home broadband connections, compared to 43% of European-American adults.

83% of households on Native American reservations have a telephone, compared to 93% of households across California as a whole.

Broadband Access: A Digital Dream for Many

Broadband access (also known as high-speed internet) allows for faster, more reliable connectivity. It can come in the form of Wi-Fi, DSL or fiber optic transmission.

Broadband access is internationally recognized as a critical driver of economic growth. Increasing access in underserved communities can stimulate economic growth by improving educational opportunities and connecting residents to business opportunities outside the community.

As the graph below illustrates, Latino immigrants have the lowest rate of broadband access in California . Over 40% of Latino immigrant households have access to computers, but less than 10% of those households have broadband internet.

Greenlining's Work to Bridge the Digital Divide

Universal Lifeline Telephone Service

The Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Program (ULTS) provides discounted telephone service for qualified low-income households.

The graph below illustrates the increase in telephone service penetration in low-income households over time. This increase is a result of California 's ULTS program.


Greenlining is working with the California Public Utilities Commission to expand ULTS to include wireless technologies, which is critical to expanding technology access and promoting digital inclusion. The current ULTS program is limited only to land-line phone service. Many eligible families do not participate in the program because a land-line is inadequate to meet their needs. These families instead spend a significant portion of their monthly budget on cell phone service, which allows them not only mobility but also access to a myriad of communications alternatives that are simply not available over an antiquated land line. Greenlining believes that the ULTS program, in order to maximize its investment and best serve its target audience, must evolve along with technology to allow subsidies for wireless service for eligible low-income households.

For more information on the CPUC's efforts to improve its Telecommunications Public Policy Programs, click http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/published/proceedings/R0605028_doc.htm.

Promoting “TeleCompetition”

Greenlining believes that the Digital Divide is best addressed by promoting competition, investment, innovation, and technological neutrality.

In today's telecommunications market, competition is increasing among providers of all telecommunications services – voice, video and data – as a result of regulatory and social blurring of industry boundaries. An example of this phenomenon is the burgeoning video industry. Assembly Bill 2987, the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act (DIVCA), and advancements in broadband and fiber optic technology have opened the doors for competition between companies that have not traditionally competed in the same market. Verizon and AT&T now compete with TimeWarner and Comcast, all providing multi-media packages at ever-decreasing prices.

Greenlining maintains that this information industry revolution must not exclude low-income and limited English proficient communities. These communities possess vast buying power for which telecommunications carriers should actively compete. Through our advocacy before the CPUC and directly with carriers, Greenlining promotes competition as a means of bridging California 's digital divide.

California Broadband Task Force

Established by Governor Schwarzenegger in late 2006, the primary objective of the Broadband Task Force is to remove impediments to the rapid deployment of broadband technologies. Rapid broadband deployment across the state will increase access and availability for all Californians, as well as community investments and technological innovation, particularly for underserved communities.

California Broadband Task Force

California Emerging Technology Fund

Following the 2005 mergers of AT&T-SBC and Verizon-MCI, the newly formed companies established the $60 million California Emerging Technology Fund. The fund, with the assistance of matching funds, provides grants for building broadband networks in presently-underserved areas. After an extensive review and selection process, CETF is currently funding its first round of projects.

California Emerging Technology Fund

Resources

DigitalDivide.org: Ushering in the Second Digital Revolution

The Pew Internet & American Life Project

California's Digital Divide: Just the Facts (Public Policy Institute of California)

Binary America: Split in Two by a Digital Divide (Washington Post)

California Cable & Telecommunications Association

California Telemedicine & eHealth Center

California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology