The Net Inclusion Conference is a marquee event from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. Every year, the organization works with a volunteer committee of local digital inclusion advocates to host a three-day conference for digital inclusion practitioners nationwide. This year, program managers, community leaders, broadband advocates, and others descended into Portland, Oregon, to celebrate monumental changes in the broadband landscape since the last time that the 2020 conference met in Charlotte, North Carolina.  

Francella Ochillo, NCC’s executive director, moderated a panel with local officials from Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas. 

• Juliet Fink-Yates, Ed.M, Digital Inclusion Manager, City of Philadelphia
• Rebecca Gibbons, Strategic Initiatives Manager, City of Portland
• Candelaria Mendoza, Smart City Coordinator, City of San Antonio

The local officials shared challenges, victories, and best practices related to their digital inclusion strategies at the local level. In the City of Philadelphia, the local government released a five-year digital equity plan to confront issues associated with access, affordability, and access to devices. Poverty, language barriers, limited digital literacy skills, and more pose ongoing challenges to implementation. 

The City of Portland uses partnerships, especially with community-based organizations, to develop digital inclusion programs. Gibbons explained that since the lack of funding has been a continual issue for local government programs, the City is preparing to make upcoming grant funding opportunities sustainable.

Finally, Mendoza elaborated on how the City of San Antonio has been supporting and advocating for digital inclusion for years. It is home to SA Connects, a public, private, community digital collaboration designed to make San Antonio and Greater Bexar County “shovel ready” to implement digital equity initiatives. 

Next Century Cities works to ensure that local officials have a voice in a national conversation about closing the digital divide. In these types of forums, local, state, and federal officials benefits from learning about the community-level impact of broadband policies.