Broadband Access during Crisis: Examining Bad Data in the Digital Divide

In February 2020, the United States began facing a disaster the likes of which it had never experienced. People were asked to shelter-in-place in their homes and rely on their network connection in order to go to school, continue working, participate in commerce, socialize with those outside their homes, and access media for news and entertainment. Broadband connections became people’s lifeline. Questions surrounding the digital divide and digital equity came to the forefront of public discourse. When broadband access stopped being arguably necessary and became truly necessary, a bright light suddenly exposed the way that broadband was deployed, the relationship between the regulatory agency and the organizations it oversees, and the limited aid that was available to those in need of access.This paper attempts to address a swiftly moving target, examining how the digital divide is being measured, the failure of the regulatory institution’s efforts to close the divide, the consequences resulting from a lack of access in during the crisis, subsidies available to aid those in need, and actions explored or taken to address digital equity across under or unserved communities to close the digital divide.