PHOENIX — The City of Phoenix is looking to add more network infrastructure for fiber-optic high-speed internet across the Valley. A subcommittee is expected to present new ideas on Thursday.
Experts say the digital divide is greatest in the city’s urban areas, where the lowest incomes still lack connectivity.
“Despite the fact that it is urban, it is the place in Maricopa County where the largest number of people still lack connectivity,” said Erin Carr-Jordan, the CEO of Digital Equity Institute in Arizona.
According to the Federal Communications Commission, at least 18 million people in America have limited or no access to high-speed broadband infrastructure. That mainly includes urban, rural and tribal communities.
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That digital divide reached a crisis point during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were all scrambling, creating hotspots for kids and finding laptops to refurbish and so on to address this critical need,” said Steven Zylstra, the president and CEO at Arizona Technology Council.
Researchers at Common Sense Media found over 330,000 Arizona students do not have adequate high-speed internet. More than 220,000 do not have devices like phones or laptops.
“It creates a real disadvantage for our population when they’re unable to connect to the incredible resources that are now available either on the Internet or through AI,” said Zylstra.
Phoenix’s plan, if approved, would add a new section to the city code to provide the rules for licensing and transactions between the city and companies that will build and operate fiber-optic networks. These fiber-to-the-home services will allow residential customers quick access to the internet.
Experts say those in the lowest socio-economic spectrums have the most to lose without access to broadband.
“People experiencing systemic and generational poverty… people who have a disability, people who are veterans, people who are older adults,” said Carr-Jordan.
A subcommittee is set to hear on the issue on Thursday with city council members voting on it at a later date.
