Closing the Digital Divide

As seen in Berkeley Law

For Kevin Frazier, “the internet is the new electricity — without it, you’re in the dark.”

That mindset drove him to launch No One Left Offline (NOLO), which provides financial assistance to individuals and families struggling to pay their broadband bills. The organization is also creating “NOLO Zones” at San Francisco businesses, creating spaces with free WiFi for all.

More than 42 million Americans lack broadband. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem with schools forced to teach students online, people with health problems increasingly reliant on video medical appointments, and older adults needing online access to connect with loved ones.

“Being able to use the internet is more important than ever,” Frazier says. “But it’s something too many people have to trade off with other essentials.”

Before law school, he saw this firsthand while leading Passport Oregon, a nonprofit that connected families in “under-natured” communities with the state’s outdoors.

“During our trips, kids and their parents were constantly weighing when they should turn their phones off, how many texts they could send, and whether they had enough data left that month to do a quick Google search,” he recalls. “Data caps and other barriers were leaving these families in the digital dark.”

Eager to help, Frazier studied the political and legal barriers to internet

access at the Harvard Kennedy School and now Berkeley Law. When the pandemic hit, he quickly began contacting community service organizations already working on the issue.

“They had identified those in need of devices, internet, and digital literacy,” Frazier says. “They simply needed someone to help guide them in meeting those needs.”

NOLO has since formed a coalition of more than 20 organizations with deep connections to communities lacking broadband in the Bay Area and Portland, Frazier’s hometown.

An example of that outreach is Señor Sisig, a restaurant in San Francisco’s Mission District. NOLO donated a hotspot there, equipped with a year of internet, which Señor Sisig leaves open for community members to use for quick searches, downloads, and scheduling needs.

Soon after, NOLO procured 10 hotspots for Opportunity Junction, led by Berkeley Law grad Alissa Friedman ’87, which helps Contra Costa County residents find careers and achieve financial security. Eighty hotspots are also being sent to Every Child Oregon, which will distribute them to families with foster youth across that state.

Frazier, who works with the hotspot providers to limit potential security and privacy concerns, credits Berkeley Law’s community for donating to the cause, helping identify other coalition partners, and honing pivotal skills.

“I’ve grown much more comfortable reading contracts, writing MOUs, and weighing the risks of various potential partnerships,” he says. “Though people in the private and public sectors have good intentions about remedying this discordance, there’s still a lot to be done. I’m eager to continue working at the nexus of technology and good governance.” —Andrew Cohen