From the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society…

Join us on September 10 at 2:00 p.m. ET for a webinar on broadband affordability and policy. Available via the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society’s YouTube page, the webinar will feature new research about broadband affordability and state legislative approaches to ensure the availability of affordable high-speed internet access. The discussion will highlight how broadband affordability, availability, and adoption relate to each other and present current and future opportunities to improve universal access.

Current federal investment in broadband infrastructure will go a long way to improve broadband availability, but it must be accompanied by affordability support if all Americans are to adopt broadband service. The expiration of the Affordable Connectivity Program in 2024, recent changes to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program’s requirements for a low-cost service option, and possible reforms to the Universal Service Fund have all influenced the current landscape.

Dr. Caroline Stratton, Research Director of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, will moderate a discussion with:

• Dr. John Horrigan, Benton Senior Fellow and national expert on technology adoption, digital inclusion, and evaluating the outcomes and impacts of programs designed to promote communications technology adoption and use. Horrigan will share insights from his recent research reports, Budgeting for Broadband and Marking Progress, Targeting Gaps: Lessons from Broadband Adoption Trends, and his past research on the Lifeline Program.
• Jordan Arnold, Master of Public Affairs candidate at Princeton University. She previously served as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Biden-Harris White House, where she led work on broadband and economic development in the Office of the Chief of Staff. Arnold will present lessons from her new Benton research report about how states are approaching affordability in the absence of federal policy action.
• Ambika Nair, Community Development Research Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, conducts research and data analysis on the financial well-being of low- and moderate-income communities. Nair will share findings from a forthcoming publication about the relative affordability of broadband in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in U.S. cities.

Tune in to learn more about what the practitioner and policymaking communities can do to ensure that low-income households can afford reliable, sustainable access to broadband internet service.