It’s time we took steps to close the digital divide

Ohioans have been standing strong through long months of COVID-19 disruption. But the pandemic also has pushed a glaring Ohio weakness into the spotlight. That problem is the wide gap between the haves and have-nots of high-speed Internet access. The Internet is, of course, an important necessity of modern life, but in light of the pandemic, it’s become an absolute essential for millions of Ohioans who need to work or study at home.

Suddenly this spring, education at every level was forced out of the classroom and into each student’s home. But an estimated 700,000 of the homes in Ohio — due to geography, finances, or both — lack access to reliable, high-speed Internet service that is essential for learning online. Overnight, Ohio’s digital divide mushroomed into a troublesome learning gap.

It may be easy to assume this is primarily a rural issue or a problem confined to Ohio’s Appalachian counties. But the digital divide also affects large swaths of our major cities, in neighborhoods that have been long underserved or where many families can’t afford high-speed access. And the divide affects more than younger Ohioans in K-12 classes and traditional college students who — temporarily, at least — have no other recourse but to take their classes online. I’m thinking of the many working adults who have lost their jobs in recent months and want to broaden their opportunities or begin new careers with additional education. They depend on broadband digital access to pursue their dreams. For so many that access is out of reach.

The digital divide has long been a concern for my own institution, Western Governors University, which since 1997 has been a nonprofit source of accredited online learning for thousands of Americans pursuing bachelor’s and master’s degrees. That’s why WGU offers financial aid to help provide broadband Internet service and access devices to our students who need but can’t afford reliable high-speed digital access. Other colleges and universities — suddenly shifting to online learning in response to the pandemic — are now offering aid packages of their own.

But of course, the ability to afford proper computer hardware is only one small part of the digital divide picture. No amount of student aid — and no single education institution — can solve the geographical and infrastructure pieces of this puzzle. Bridging Ohio’s digital divide, whether due to distance and terrain or to lack of connectivity in our inner cities, will require a statewide commitment, public-private partnerships, and significant investment.

Happily, state government leaders are well aware of the digital divide and are focused on finding solutions. Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, in particular, is taking aggressive steps to address the digital divide, laying out a comprehensive Ohio Broadband Strategy to leverage state resources and encourage public-private partnerships in support of expanded connectivity as part of Ohio’s broader economic development efforts.

To coordinate these efforts, the governor created BroadBand Ohio, a state office serving as the liaison for coordinating broadband initiatives among state agencies and their partners, while maximizing the impact of public and private funding. And the Ohio House of Representatives has passed House Bill 13, which if approved by the Ohio Senate later this year would create the Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Program Authority. This pending legislation includes funding and expansion-friendly policies to help extend high-speed digital networks to underserved communities in the state.

These statewide initiatives are an excellent start to bridging Ohio’s digital divide, but we must realize that a start is just that — a beginning. It’s not an end. For that, lasting solutions will require concerted efforts by state and local governments, educators, and the business community. Solutions also will require federal support and state-by-state cooperation, because the digital divide is also a national problem and not confined to Ohio. That’s why WGU is a strong advocate for a nationwide infrastructure plan that will make broadband service available to every Ohioan and every American, regardless of income or location.

Together, we need to close the digital divide for the benefit of all students in Ohio who — by choice or necessity — are pursuing an education online.

(Allen is the Chancellor of WGU Ohio, the state affiliate of online, nonprofit Western Governors University.)

Originally published at https://www.heraldstaronline.com.