NTIA Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives Releases Inaugural Report
Historically black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions say inadequate or nonexistent infrastructure is a common barrier to accessing reliable, high-speed broadband, said NTIA's Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives (OMBI) in its inaugural report to Congress…
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Thursday. The report also cited an affordability gap and the cost of devices as a barrier to adoption. Affordable and reliable high-speed internet "is still far from ubiquitous and its benefits are not equitably shared," the report said. Despite "promising improvements," the report highlighted "persistent disparities in internet subscriptions and device usage along lines of race, ethnicity, and income." The report is "a milestone in our mission to address high-speed internet deployment challenges in vulnerable communities,” said NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson: “The newly created Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives will lead the way to ensure that these critical anchor institutions and the communities they serve have access to high-speed, affordable internet service.” OMBI said it plans to focus on four areas in the coming years: building the capacity of anchor institutions and their communities, evaluating the connecting minority communities pilot program for best practices to "expand digital access and adoption," coordinating with other agencies on the Biden administration's "Internet for All" initiatives, and exploring partnerships with digital equity stakeholders. OMBI said it awarded five grants totaling more than $20 million through the connecting minority communities pilot.