WASHINGTON, November 20, 2023 — A panel discussion at the Connect20 Summit here on Tuesday emphasized the importance of digital skills in enhancing connectivity and ensuring equitable access to technology.

Caroline Treschitta, a policy analyst at the National Skills Coalition, underscored the necessity of foundational digital skills for workforce development. She highlighted the Coalition’s focus on lifelong upskilling and reskilling, particularly in response to labor market shifts like the pandemic. Citing statistics from Indiana, she said one digital skill could result in a 23% wage increase, or the equivalent to an additional $8,000 to $9,000 annually.

She also said that one in three youth also lack foundational digital competency.

Chrissie Powell, chief growth and impact officer at the digital skills training group Byte Back detailed the organization’s efforts at tech inclusion focused on historically marginalized communities.

Byte Back’s approach begins with basic digital literacy, such as teaching how to power on a computer and safely navigate the internet, she said, extending to more advanced skills like Microsoft Office and IT fundamentals. Powell emphasized the significance of building confidence alongside skills to overcome fear, a major barrier in technology adoption.

Graham Jackson, social media and content analyst at Human IT, spoke about the organization’s national digital equity efforts, including providing reliable devices, internet connectivity, and digital skills training. He also mentioned the non-profit’s work in integrating financial literacy into digital skills programs, illustrating the connectedness of multiple technical skills to the domain of digital inclusion.

Representing the Ashbury Senior Computer Community Center, Gina Birch highlighted the organization’s work in digital literacy for seniors. The group has adapted its approach to cater to the varying skill levels of older adults. Burch also discussed the need for ongoing tech support and the evolution of training methods to keep pace with changing demographics and technological advancements.

The panelists called for increased funding and resources and emphasized that digital literacy is the bridge to workforce development as well as an integral part of social determinants of health.

The session was moderated by Yvette Scorse, communications director at the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. NDIA, Network On and Broadband Breakfast organized the Connect20 Summit.

To stay involved with the Digital Navigator movement, sign up at the Connect20 Summit.

WASHINGTON, November 14, 2023 – Federal officials from three broadband funding programs said on Tuesday that expanding infrastructure is not enough to close the digital divide. 

“It’s not enough to just have a line that goes to your house,” said Sarah Morris, a deputy administrator at the Commerce Department, the agency responsible for the Biden administration’s $42.5 billion broadband expansion program. “If you can’t afford that connection, that is not of service to you. If you don’t have the devices to connect to that line, you’re not going to be able to get online in a meaningful way.”

She spoke at the Connect20 Summit as part of a panel with officials from the Treasury Department, which administers the $10 billion Capital Projects Fund, and the Department of Agriculture, whose ReConnect program has allocated $3.3 billion to rural broadband on top of its longstanding Rural Utilities Service subsidy. Broadband Breakfast editor Drew Clark moderated the discussion.

They echoed the position of advocates who have pushed for a more comprehensive approach to expanding broadband access and adoption. 

And funding agencies seem to agree. More than $1 billion of the Treasury’s CPF funds have been allocated to projects that build community centers rather than infrastructure, and all providers are required to participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program, a monthly internet subsidy.

“These are places where people can congregate and digital navigators can work,” said Joey Wender, director of the CPF. Digital navigators refers to people who work to get communities acquainted with online services.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, where Morris works, oversees a dedicated digital equity grant in tandem with the larger Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. The NTIA requires states to produce a digital equity plan – a plan to address broadband adoption gaps in rural and low-income communities, often through information sessions and affordability efforts – as part of the BEAD program. 

That $2.75 billion digital equity grant program is being administered in three phases: planning grants, capacity grants, and competitive grants. 

The $60 million set aside for planning grants has largely been disbursed. It’s intended to help states draft their digital equity plans. According to the NTIA, 28 states have released drafts of their plans for public comment. Final drafts are due to the NTIA within one year of receiving planning grant funds. 

Capacity grants are set to start up in 2024, with $1.44 billion being made available for states to implement the plans they draw up with planning grant funds. 

In addition to states, the $1.25 billion competitive grant program will be open to applications from nonprofits, local governments, and anchor institutions like libraries. It’s set to accept those applications after capacity grants are awarded.

To stay involved with the Digital Navigator movement, sign up at the Connect20 Summit.

Humans still matter.

In the age of digital automation and personalized AI agents, this simple truth may be the most surprising fact of the burgeoning movement for digital navigators.

Today (and tomorrow), we’re excited to be a part of the Connect20 Summit here in Washington and online. Together with Network:On and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Broadband Breakfast has helped to gather the key leaders in this space for this free event here in Washington.

It’s not too late to participate online. In fact, we invite you to view the event page and sign up for Free Zoom Registration. You’ll also receive access to the videos of each of today’s sessions.

Listening to Angela Siefer

In the lead-up to the event, I had to chance to catch up with Angela Siefer, executive director of the NDIA. She’s a leader in the digital equity movement, and has done so much to define this field that we now call “digital inclusion.”

“Technology is not going to solve the digital divide” without people involved, said Siefer. “There is a necessity of a human” who can guide or navigate those who need help managing technology and the internet.

Think of it this way: Will our nation enable digital adoption through better broadband access, or through more affordable internet connections? The answer, of course, is both/all. Access, affordability and adoption must work together.

Siefer says, referencing the Affordable Connectivity Program that provides a $30/month subsidy to lower-income internet users, “If we had only ACP and no digital navigators, we wouldn’t make much progress. If we had only classes in front of an instructor, that wouldn’t work either.”

The last few years have prompted a groundswell of understanding, Siefer said, about the role of digital mediators, i.e, “a person who can help you with your digital needs.”

The Connect20 Summit will discuss the role of these persons that we call digital navigators.

Why Connect20?

The Connect20 Summit is built around the understanding that a core component of Americans — about 20 percent — that are NOT connected to the benefits available through broadband internet services.

In a blog post last year, officials at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration highlighted the fact that “internet access means access to education, healthcare, jobs, and entertainment. It’s essential to full participation in our modern economy,” wrote the authors, Michelle Cao and Rafi Goldberg.

“Still, NTIA data show that about one in five U.S. households are not connected to the Internet at home,” they write, citing barriers that range from cost to access to no computer to a lack of interest or awareness.

The NTIA’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program is one important initiative to make sure all Americans are connected to affordable broadband; the ACP program administered by the Federal Communications Commission is another. Both are enabled by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed two years ago tomorrow.

But what does this mean for digital navigators?

From a stool to a ladder

Previous discussions about digital inclusion often centered around a metaphor of a “stool” that included access, affordability and adoption.

But Siefer said that we now realize there is a better paradigm. It is a digital ladder or pathway with about five steps:

The first is affordable connectivity itself. This presumes access to broadband, but it also includes making individuals aware of ACP and helping them sign up for it.

Second is the role of appropriate digital devices. Lots of work that needs to be done in this space because of a surfeit of low-quality computing equipment that’s become too prevalent since the pandemic, said Siefer.

Third are digital skills. This is where digital navigators really shine. They guide the disconnected by understanding their needs and empathizing with what they must learn and where they want to go.

Fourth is tech support. This is generally more specific to devices that have stopped working. “If you have resources, you go to your Genius Bar,” quipped Siefer. “If you don’t have resources, the device gathers dust.”

Fifth are applications. Interestingly, this can mean “application” in the sense of something like an application for benefits or an unemployment application. Or it could mean a software application that someone is trying to use for the first time. While NDIA doesn’t focus on specific applications, someone who has been trained by a digital navigator will have the confidence to get answers to their digital dilemmas.

Better Broadband, Better Lives

The confluence of the IIJA’s provisions to promote broadband equity, access and deployment present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to connect these 20% of Americans who don’t subscribe to home broadband.

Digital navigators are indeed the key to helping all American get on this pathway.

Our motto at Broadband Breakfast is “Better Broadband, Better Lives.” We’re passionate about this topic not just because we want better broadband. But it’s also because – with the help of digital navigators – we want to see everyone on the ladder of opportunity that leads to better lives.