COVID-19 Resources
Organizations that already focused on access to the internet and devices (public use and in the home) plus digital literacy training, now find themselves working around the clock. Organizations that did not provide this digital inclusion programming now find themselves figuring out how to do so, again around the clock. Most of this work is local and none of them have enough resources.
NDIA is:
- Facilitating virtual spaces for information sharing
- Relaying on the ground experiences and federal resource needs to the media
- Advocating for local, state and federal resources
Community Calls
To help our community stay informed during this chaotic time – NDIA is hosting Community Zoom calls the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month at 1 PM ET. During these calls, we will share national resources and on-the-ground strategies for providing digital inclusion services during this health crisis.
REGISTER HERE if you would like to join.
"The inequities in all our education systems are going to be even worse," says @angelasiefer of @netinclusion. https://t.co/xmZVwggRAw
— CityLab (@CityLab) March 24, 2020
The onset of a global health pandemic has put a spotlight on digital inclusion. NDIA is documenting State Government Responses and Local Government Responses to encourage other governments to address access to the internet (particularly at home), personal computers and tablets, and tech assistance. These initiatives are in addition to the FCC’s Keeping American’s Connected Pledge.
The COVID-19 health crisis has shed light on the need for home internet service, and the large number of American households in all kinds of communities who don’t have it. Some Internet Service Providers have responded with new or improved discount broadband plans, that will only be available for a short time; others continue to offer plans that were created prior to the crisis. NDIA updates the list of Free & Low-Cost Internet Plans regularly.
This ten-episode series showcases interviews with digital inclusion stakeholders and practitioners from across the country highlighting their community-based efforts to address the digital divide. In the first four episodes, the digital inclusion practitioners talk about how they have pivoted and adapted their organizations and digital inclusion work amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Angela Addresses the Digital Equity Landscape on iHeartMedia
In the News
Part One:
Part Two:
Latest News
NDIA Digital Navigator Model Page is Live!
The Digital Navigator Model Page explains the core elements of the model, hosts sample graphics, worksheets, instructions and assessments, and recognizes everyone in the Digital Navigators Working Group. Repeated thanks to our Digital Navigators Working Group. Their...
Angela Addresses the Digital Equity Landscape on iHeartMedia
This interview by Anna de Haro at iHeartMedia addresses the complexities and urgency around reaching digital inclusion and highlights some resources available. In the US internet is very much a commodity, not a utility, and is very lightly regulated. In part, this is...
Wyden bill provides emergency internet assistance for laid-off workers, low income households, Pell students
United States Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon yesterday introduced the "Emergency Broadband Connections Act", which would create a new Emergency Benefit for Broadband Service to provide free or low-cost broadband service for low-income families as well as workers recently...
Digital Navigator Baseline Job Description
Through an NDIA Working Group of digital inclusion practitioners revising their work to be socially distant and/or remote, NDIA has created a baseline job description for a Digital Navigator. In the great tradition of “surfing the internet as we build the internet”,...
Federal regulators allow CRA credit for bank investments in digital access during COVID-19 emergency
The three federal agencies that oversee U.S. banks and savings institutions have adopted special Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) guidelines for the COVID-19 emergency period which, among other things, allow regulated lenders to seek CRA credit for "Loans, investments...
New rules from OCC: Banks can now get CRA credit for funding digital inclusion
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal agency that oversees national banks and savings associations, has just added support for community digital inclusion programs to its official list of “qualified activities” that could help a regulated...
House Democrats’ COVID relief bill includes Emergency Broadband Benefit
The new, three trillion dollar COVID-19 relief proposal (the “HEROES act”) unveiled yesterday by Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives includes $8.8 billion to fund an Emergency Broadband Benefit for consumers who are eligible for Lifeline phone...
Fourteen local governments featured as 2020 Digital Inclusion Trailblazers
Fourteen municipal governments across the U.S., ranging in size from New York City to Provo, Utah, are featured in NDIA's new roster of Digital Inclusion Trailblazers for 2020. Released at a time when COVID-19 has forced many communities to confront their own digital...
House Dems’ broadband plan is comprehensive: Includes digital equity funding, home internet payment help
Democratic Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Majority Whip James Clyburn (SC) and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (NJ), yesterday announced the outline of a "Plan to Connect All Americans to Affordable Broadband Internet" that...
Healthcares Rapid Shift to Telehealth
The American Medical Association recently published a blog by NDIA Senior Fellow Amy Sheon called, The Digital Divide- Telehealth's Achillie's Heal. She shares with NDIA why she wrote it and what she hopes it accomplishes: As you know, healthcare rapidly shifted from...