Now Is the Time for Nationwide Free Internet
In the past few months, nearly everything that can move online has moved online. But not everyone is lucky enough to have fast and secure internet access at home. Plenty of folks have historically relied on libraries, cafés, and other public spaces for their Wi-Fi access. As communities across the country have mass-migrated online in an attempt to prevent the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the great divider of internet access is suddenly receiving renewed attention.
Internet access is unequal across the United States
Government and social policies in the United States have fostered a deep digital divide when it comes to internet access. Folks in low-income and rural areas are the least likely to have broadband internet subscriptions. In 2015, a study from Information Economics and Policy looked into why people did not subscribe to broadband and found that cost was almost always the issue. The research indicated that providers would have to drop prices by around 15% to increase subscribers by only 10%.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) runs a program called Lifeline that provides subsidized phone and internet services to low-income individuals to try to make up for the access gap…
