November 15, 2021

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Dear Speaker Mariano, President Spilka, Leader Tarr and Leader Jones:

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.  The focus of our work has been on advancing policies that help to improve quality of life outcomes for Black Americans.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how essential broadband is to American life, including its impact on education, jobs, and medical care. While there are multiple causes of the “Digital Divide,” we view key drivers as 1) a lack of physical broadband infrastructure that provides reliable access to the internet required for learning and work, 2) an inability for households to afford broadband and digital devices, and 3) technology adoption barriers, including lack of digital literacy.  As business leaders from communities across the nation, including 27 organizations with employees throughout the Commonwealth, we encourage you to prioritize these three factors when allocating funding to address the Digital Divide and related racial disparities.

The Digital Divide is a significant issue for Black Americans in both unserved and underserved areas. Nationwide, 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 Black Americans) do not have a computer or broadband access.[5] Roughly 2.5 million Massachusetts residents are caught in the Digital Divide.

In Massachusetts, we are pleased to see significant broadband investments proposed by the Senate (S. 2564), House (H. 4234), and Governor’s office to address this important equity issue. We also appreciate that both the Senate and House bills address broadband service adoption in both unserved and underserved communities. This is an important aspect of closing the Digital Divide because underserved areas include many Gateway Cities.

However, we also call out the need for any final legislation to include funding allocations to address digital literacy, including technology support and training for users, especially those with limited access like many low-income residents. Coupled with the funding allocations for distribution of digital devices, we believe these types of investments will help to directly address racial disparities in broadband access throughout the Commonwealth.

As you reconcile the bills, we urge the Senate and House to include language in the final bill that gives grassroots and community-based organizations prioritized access to the apportioned broadband funds. These organizations are key to the equitable disbursement of resources into the communities and homes that need it the most.

Substantial funding in broadband infrastructure and programmatic initiatives will help provide all residents of the Commonwealth, 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 Massachusetts economy.

Thank you for your leadership and commitment to prioritizing accessible broadband, affordable internet devices, and digital literacy for both unserved and underserved populations. Closing the Digital Divide will improve millions of lives for the better.

Sincerely,
CEO Action for Racial Equity

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CC:
Governor Charles D. Baker

Lt. Governor Karyn Polito

Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Chair -House Ways & Means Committee

Senator Michael Rodrigues, Chair Senate -Ways & Means Committee

Representative Dan Hunt, Chair- House Committee on Federal Stimulus and Census Oversight

Representative Chynah Tyler, Chair- Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus

References

1. Lara Fishbane and Adie Tomer, “Neighborhood Broadband Data Makes it Clear: We Need an Agenda to Fight Digital Poverty”, The Brookings Institution, February 6, 2020.
2. Allan Holmes, Eleanor Bell Fox, Ben Wieder and Chris Zubak-Skees, “Rich People Have Access to High Speed Internet; Many Poor People Still Don’t”, The Center for Public Integrity, May 12, 2016.
3. Bill Callahan and Angela Siefer, “Limiting Broadband Investment to “Rural Only” Discriminates Against Black Americans and Other Communities of Color”, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, June 2020.
4. G.K. Butterfield, “Race and the Digital Divide: Why Broadband Access is More than an Urban vs. Rural Issue”, The Hill, May 13, 2019.
5. The Digital Divide: Percentage of Households by Broadband Internet Subscription, Computer Type, Race and Hispanic Origin, United States Census Bureau, September 11, 2017.