The FCC has released a plan for addressing broadband discrimination in the United States.
Chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel, of the Federal Communications Commission has announced its plan of developing a cross-agency task force to address and eradicate broadband or digital discrimination.
What is Broadband Discrimination?
Digital or broadband discrimination is the discrimination by telecommunication providers against potential consumers based on income, race, or neighborhood location. This type of discrimination is also known as digital redlining. Digital discrimination is one of the reasons for the digital divide in America.
Digital Divide in America
America has been faced with a digital divide for some time now. The digital divide is the gap of accessible telecom connectivity for communities. This challenge has negatively impacted business development and educational efforts. There are organizations such as EducationSuperHighway and GeoTel that combat the digital divide in the education system. However, this previously existing condition is being exacerbated by broadband discrimination.
According to telecompetitor in 2019, about a quarter or 23% of Americans have access to fiber gigabit services, and more than two-thirds, or 67%, have access to 500 Mbps services. The FCC’s recently released data suggests that by the end of 2021, about 98% of households in the U.S. had access to upload speeds of 3 Mbps and download speeds of 25 Mbps. These numbers are nowhere near gigabit services but do offer basic-level connectivity.