July 26, 2021

Dear Members of Congress:

CEO Action for Racial Equity is a Fellowship of over 100 companies that mobilizes a community of business leaders with diverse expertise across multiple industries and geographies to identify, develop and promote scalable and sustainable public policies and corporate engagement strategies that will address systemic racism, social injustice and improve societal well-being for 47M+ Black Americans.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how essential broadband is to American life, including education, jobs, and medical care. While there are multiple causes of the “Digital Divide,” key are 1) a lack of physical broadband infrastructure that provides reliable access to the internet required for learning and work, and 2) an inability for households to afford broadband, even where it exists.

Accessibility

The Digital Divide is usually framed as a “rural” issue due to substandard or no broadband infrastructure in remote areas. However, urban communities, including many Black communities and low-income households, are also deeply affected by inadequate and/or outdated broadband infrastructure.

U.S. cities and urban counties have many residents who lack home broadband service. Specifically, 13.9 million metropolitan households live without an in-home or wireless broadband subscription.[1] For comparison, this is more than triple the 4.5 million rural households without a broadband subscription. Many urban low-income neighborhoods including public housing units were not historically considered when initial broadband infrastructure was constructed and continue to lack reliable service today. Even in urban areas with high levels of broadband access, low-income families are still three times as likely to lack access as the wealthiest urban families.[2]

The Digital Divide is a significant issue for Black Americans in both urban and rural areas. Approximately five million Black American households in urban areas are without access to broadband.[3] In rural counties, broadband availability is almost 20 percent lower where a majority of residents are Black compared to rural counties that are predominately white.[4] Overall, 36.4% of Black households (16M) do not have a computer or broadband access.[5]

We urge you to provide an equitable appropriation of funds to both urban and rural communities as part of the infrastructure package in order to close the Digital Divide and achieve full broadband coverage. This will ensure all Americans, regardless of race and geographic location, with access to a reliable broadband network to fully participate in society and contribute to the growth of the U.S. economy.

Affordability

Even when urban residents have physical access to a broadband network, many people, primarily those in low-income households, do not have the financial means to afford
high-speed internet. As part of COVID-19 relief, the Emergency Broadband Benefit (“EBB”) has been an important step in addressing the affordability gap. However, it is a temporary solution to an ongoing problem. Only 59% of American households with annual incomes of $20,000 or less subscribe to broadband versus 88% for the remaining population.[6] Likewise, 50% of disconnected students come from families with annual incomes less than $50,000.[7] When considering race, the affordability gap is compounded: as of February 2021, 21% of Black Americans live below the poverty line and may struggle to afford broadband once the EBB expires.[8]

We urge you to continue to provide a low-cost broadband option as part of the bipartisan infrastructure framework to ensure low-income households are not left behind in the digital economy. The EBB has been a good starting point, especially for those whose lives have been disrupted by COVID-19. However, additional investment in a long-term broadband subsidy is required to properly address the Digital Divide. A continuing broadband subsidy should also be coupled with adoption programs in order to promote the benefit and simplify the enrollment process.

Thank you for your leadership and commitment to prioritizing accessible and affordable broadband in both urban as well as rural communities. Closing the Digital Divide will improve millions of Americans’ lives for the better.

Sincerely,

CEO Action for Racial Equity

CC:
Hon. Chuck Schumer
Hon. Mitch McConnell