NTIA Says Digital Divide Narrower in Northwest
The Pacific Northwest has narrowed the digital divide, but much work remains, NTIA wrote Friday on its blog after wrapping up a broadband workshop in Seattle. Agency officials were there last week for a regional broadband summit Monday (see 1603210049),…
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a workshop Tuesday and a webinar Thursday. The workshop was the sixth in a series of regional workshops organized by NTIA as part of its BroadbandUSA program, which provides technical assistance, guidance and resources to communities seeking to expand broadband. The workshop included about 250 people, including local, state and federal officials, tribal leaders, industry representatives and community activists. “From urban centers such as Seattle and Portland, Ore., to rural towns such as Toledo, Wash., civic leaders, industry officials and community activists are making progress in narrowing the digital divide,” NTIA wrote. “But the job is not done.” NTIA estimated 2.5 million people across the states of Idaho, Oregon and Washington didn’t use the Internet in 2015. In Seattle, 15 percent don’t subscribe to the Internet, the agency said. Many rural areas lack adequate broadband, with the problem “particularly acute for many Native American communities,” it said.