CRS – The Digital Divide: What Is It, Where Is It, and Federal Assistance Programs, March 09, 2021: “As the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began to unfold, many federal, local, and state governments, in addition to large and small businesses, implemented remote working or distance learning options to help abate the spread of the virus. As these decisions were made, some of the population had the option and the capability to shift activities online, while others did not. The digital divide has been used to characterize a gap between those Americans who have access to telecommunications and information technologies and those who do not. One subset of the digital divide debate concerns access to high-speed internet, also known as broadband. Broadband is provided by a variety of technologies (e.g., cable, telephone wire, fiber, satellite, and mobile and fixed wireless) that give users the ability to send and receive data at volumes and speeds that support a wide range of applications, including voice communications, entertainment, telemedicine, distance education, telework, ecommerce, civic engagement, public safety, and energy conservation. Broadband technologies are currently being deployed, primarily by the private sector, throughout the United States. While the number of new broadband subscribers continues to grow, in general, rural areas—and tribal areas in particular—tend to lag behind urban and suburban areas in broadband deployment and the speed of service offered. Some policymakers, believing that disparities in broadband access across American society could have adverse economic and social consequences on those left behind, assert that the federal government should play a more active role to address the“digital divide” in broadband access, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which further revealed discrepancies in broadband availability and accessibility…”

Engadget: “A new bill aims to make high-speed internet more accessible everywhere in the US, including far-flung locations and underserved communities. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn has introduced the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act (PDF), which will spend $94 billion to ensure that unserved and persistent poverty communities have access to affordable high-speed internet. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), co-chairperson of the Senate Broadband Caucus, has also introduced the bill in the Senate…”