On January 9, 2019, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report highlighting various national broadband policies that address the digital divide. The report states that “…Broadband technologies are currently being deployed primarily by the private sector throughout the United States. While the numbers of new broadband subscribers continue to grow, studies and data suggest that the rate of broadband deployment in urban/suburban and high-income areas is outpacing deployment in rural and low-income areas…”
The E-rate program is one of the Federal programs that the CRS highlights. As of January 15, 2019, according to a Funds For Learning analysis, schools and libraries have requested $49.9 billion worth of E-rate support since the program started in 1998 and in FY 2018, 21,528 institutions took advantage of applying for broadband connectivity.
The CRS Digital Divide report can be viewed here.
