In May 2021, Next Century Cities released Broadband Mapping Across the US: Local, State, and Federal Methods and Contradictions. At that time, many states did not have a broadband office with full-time staff. While some states provided their own funding to develop broadband maps, others relied exclusively on federal data. 

In the two years since, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Among $65 billion allocated for broadband, all 50 states and the US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and District of Columbia applied for funding through the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which requires states to staff a broadband office, develop maps, and administer a challenge process for correcting data. 

With a wealth of information available from state governments and many new faces in broadband offices across the US, NCC is developing a series of one pagers to help local leaders understand the broadband landscape in their communities. Spotlighting American Community Survey data from the US Census Bureau provides local leaders with a communication tool to illustrate the relationship between poverty and the digital divide. 

Key takeaways: 

• Higher local poverty rates correlate with lower broadband subscription and home computer levels. 
• Trends persist across rural and urban communities alike.
• Local digital inclusion initiatives may offset poverty’s impact on the digital divide.

You can view an interactive map of state information here: