NOLO Chats with the FCC About "The Moral Imperative to Close the Digital Divide."

Over the last month, many of us made note of our “quarantine anniversaries” on our calendars because we have now been in our homes to help slow the spread of COVID-19 for more than a year. We’ve been incredibly dependent on broadband to connect to work, school, and our loved ones. Unfortunately, for millions of people across this nation, the process of accessing or maintaining a home broadband connection has been financially costly and personally draining. 

The government agency largely responsible for ensuring everyone across the United States has access to broadband is the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC is traditionally directed by five Commissioners although it currently has four Commissioners until another is appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

One of those four Commissioners is Commissioner Geoffrey Starks who has been vocal about the urgent need to connect communities of color and low-income communities to broadband. Traditionally, Commissioners have three legal advisors; however, when Commissioner Starks was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, he decided to bring on an additional advisor who could focus specifically on issues of equity.

The staffer leading that charge is Commissioner Starks’ Special Advisor, Dr. Alisa Valentin, who is helping the Commissioner take bold steps to close the digital divide. No One Left Offline sat down for an interview with Dr. Valentin about the work that America needs to do to bring critical internet connections to families most in need.

The digital divide isn’t just something Dr. Valentin works on professionally, it’s something she has experienced. Dr. Valentin grew up in rural South Georgia in a town called Tifton, about an hour away from Telfair County which NOLO has previously highlighted for having the lowest rate of internet connection of any county in America. Her experience and visits back to South Georgia expose her to the challenges that families face who don’t have reliable internet due to lack of infrastructure.

Where infrastructure exists, it can be unreliable, or families are forced to pay exorbitant internet bills with incredibly slow speeds. Additionally, she recognizes that there are millions of households that solely depend on their phones to access the internet. That’s why it’s not surprising that she went on to pursue a PhD at Howard University, an HBCU located in Washington, D.C., where she focused on identifying community-centered solutions to close the digital divide by centering those who are unable to afford reliable broadband

Dr. Valentin has brought this community-focus to her work within the Office of FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. She says that Commissioner Starks often talks about the power of convening because it offers an opportunity to bring diverse voices to the table alongside an opportunity to elevate different ways the digital divide is impacting various communities.

To that end, she has organized the Commissioner’s HBCU presidents’ roundtables as well as panel discussions related to Black mental health and broadband access, the Latinx digital divide, the future of work, and Black businesses working to stay afloat during the pandemic.

Dr. Valentin says that the Commissioner’s dedication to focusing on the intersection of civil rights and broadband has helped bring much-needed attention to the racial digital divide that exists throughout both urban and rural America. 

Commissioner Starks is the only Black commissioner at the FCC and his team has taken up the responsibility of being the voice for marginalized communities. Dr. Valentin says that as a Black woman and a Latina, she doesn’t take that responsibility lightly and she believes the Commissioner’s office has done important work to address the various connectivity needs of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities across the nation.

She says their focus on the nation’s most marginalized communities allows their office to continue pushing forward policies that address the number one barrier to broadband adoption, which is affordability. 

This work comes at a critical time – According to the FCC, at least 19 million Americans and 10 million school-age children do not have internet access. As much of normal life has gone online, this means millions of American cannot attend school, show up for work, access telehealth appointments, or reach digital government services. "Without ensuring everyone has fast, reliable access to the Internet, America risks leaving an entire generation of children and workers behind.

The FCC has pushed forward several programs to close the digital divide. While the Lifeline Program provides affordable communications services support to low-income families struggling with connectivity, Commissioner Starks has often highlighted the need to ensure this program meets the modern-day needs of the nation’s most vulnerable communities. Additionally, he has been vocal about the ways the FCC can improve interagency coordination to ensure households learn about their eligibility to participate in the Lifeline program.

Dr. Valentin says that outreach is also one of the Commissioner’s top priorities as it relates to the FCC’s new Emergency Broadband Benefit program which offers $50 discounts (and $75 discounts on tribal lands) per month to households that otherwise cannot easily afford broadband. Commissioner Starks has said, “If we are successful—and we must be—the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) will reach more disconnected low-income households and people of color than any previous FCC effort to close the digital divide.”

When you ask Dr. Valentin about the future, she is hopeful that we will be able to live in a connected world that allows everyone to thrive and she has a few ideas for how we can move the ball forward together. 

First, she believes that we must all recognize that we have a moral imperative to close the digital divide across the country. She also says that we must invest in our low-income households, K-12 students, and our nation’s HBCUs and minority serving institutions.

Second, she believes that the policies we enact must be future proof. It’s not simply about meeting the moment, it’s also about being ready and competitive in the years ahead. Dr. Valentin says the pandemic has been a wake-up call about the experiences of those living on the wrong side of the digital divide that has created an increased momentum to meet the connectivity needs of households across this nation.

She hopes that the urgent need to connect our most vulnerable communities does not dissipate when we are able to experience some sense of normalcy again.

At NOLO, we share the same hopes and the same sense of urgency. Dr. Valentin is doing incredible work in the Office of Commissioner Starks to promote connectivity, equity, and impact in communities that need it most.