The National Broadband Plan, an alternative program, would provide affordable high-speed internet to all Americans. This 2010 proposal needs updates and support. 2022 Federal Communications Commission. The digital divide affects vulnerable communities, and current data shows that internet access is still unequal nationwide (Anderson, 2021). The policy aimed to increase next-generation access, internet use, and community broadband training. However, more work is needed to give every American cheap access to the digital economy (Katz, 2022).
Local and State Changes
States and municipalities must collaborate to achieve the National Internet Plan’s universal internet access goal. States and municipalities should amend their regulations, create incentives to fund broadband infrastructure growth, and support digital literacy projects, according to Perrin (2021). In 2021, California passed a $6 billion broadband infrastructure law to provide high-speed internet to the entire state (Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy, 2021). To ensure equal access, other states must invest and implement similar rules and practices over time. Local lobbying could include municipal broadband or public-private initiatives to reach underprivileged neighborhoods. Bureaucratic red tape and permits could be reduced to speed up broadband development.
Congruence with Social Work Values Feasibility
Social justice, human dignity and value, and interpersonal ties support broadband access goals (National Association of Social Workers, 2022). Unconnected people may miss economic opportunities, healthcare, education, and civic engagement, worsening inequality. The National Broadband Plan seeks digital fairness so all people and communities can participate in society, according to Benda et al. (2020). Ensuring affordable connectivity helps combat disadvantages. Despite political, economic, and administrative hurdles, the National Broadband Plan is still achievable. Politicians from both parties favor it as a necessary infrastructure, while the telecom industry opposes regulation (Reisdorf & Groselj, 2022). Fiber optic cable installation, towers, spectrum purchase, and other costs require hundreds of billions of dollars. Federal, state, and municipal governments, ISPs, and other infrastructure providers must administratively work closely for this to happen. Still, the pieces move slowly.
Meeting Policy Goals
The National Broadband Plan addresses the digital divide and promotes digital equality. It wants to reallocate funding to give impoverished populations technology. In keeping with social work ideals, the strategy aspires to provide all Americans with affordable internet connections to participate in society fully and the digital economy (2202). The fight for long-term infrastructure to bring internet to low-income, minority, and rural areas continues.
Forces For, Against, and Policy Advocacy Skills
The National Broadband Plan is supported by tech and telecom companies seeking new customers, underserved areas seeking connection, state and federal lawmakers viewing it as critical infrastructure, and advocates claiming it’s an equity issue (HHS, 2020). The idea’s opponents cite technology’s rapid change, fiscal conservatives’ concerns about government expenditure, logistical challenges in reaching remote locations, and substantial telecom corporations’ opposition to regulation. Social workers can promote the National Broadband Plan by educating the public about the digital divide, meeting with industry leaders to discuss affordability, educating government officials at all levels, leading community organizing efforts for improved access, working in advocacy coalitions, and using social media campaigns to highlight client challenges. Social workers can participate in state broadband councils and other policy forums.
Effects on Clinical Practice and Changes to Support Clients
Lack of internet limits social workers’ telehealth mental health services. It reduces customer health education and intervention (Perzynski et al., 2017). Limited connectivity worsens clients’ disadvantages, which clinical social workers see daily. Expanding affordable online access will help practice satisfy client demands. Providers must offer discounted or free rates for qualifying individuals, and the National Broadband Plan policy could be amended to prioritize expanding broadband subsidies for low-income households, funding mental health telehealth outreach to underserved neighborhoods, and requiring community digital literacy programs that focus on public health education and digital wellness (HHS, 2020). These adjustments may help clinical clients.
Conclusion
There have been some accomplishments, but after ten years, we still need to catch up to the countrywide Broadband Plan’s aim of inexpensive, countrywide, high-speed broadband. If updated and strengthened, this policy can bring all communities online. It aspires to close the digital divide through significant government funding and campaigning by social workers. This infrastructure and empowerment promise greater digital equality and possibilities for vulnerable groups. Future efforts will be needed to close the socioeconomic connection gap.
References
Anderson, M. (2021). Mobile Technology and Home Broadband 2021. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/06/03/mobile-technology-and-home-broadband-2021/
Benda, N.C., Veinot, T.C., Sieck, C.J., & Ancker, J.S. (2020). Broadband Internet Access Is a Social Determinant of Health! American Journal of Public Health 110(8), 1123-1125. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305784
Federal Communications Commission. (2022). Broadband Data. https://www.fcc.gov/BroadbandData
Katz, R. L. (2022). Broadband Policy and Politics. IEEE Network, 36(1), 136-142. https://doi.org/10.1109/MNET.011.2100539
HHS (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). (2020). Report to Congress: Annual Update on the Activities and Programs of the Office of Minority Health. https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/Assets/PDF/2020_OMH_Annual_Report_to_Congress.pdf
Mosley, J. E. (2022). Genetic social work: A critical approach to advancing genetic and genomic competency. Clinical Social Work Journal, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-022-00959-z
Myrick, M., Graham, C. W., Fitzgerald, H. L., Edelen, M. O., Allen Tan, A., Roush, R. F., & Glenn-Doyle, T. (2022). Connecting Generations: Technology Usage, Needs, and Attitudes Among Residents in Supportive Senior Housing. The Gerontologist, 62(2), 201-212. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnab083
National Association of Social Workers (NASW). (2022). Read the Code of Ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy. (2022). California Makes Historic Broadband Investments. https://broadband.ca.gov/news/
Perrin, A. (2021). Mobile Technology and Home Broadband 2021. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/06/03/mobile-technology-and-home-broadband-2021/
Perzynski, A. T., Roach, M. J., Shick, S., Callahan, B., Gunzburger, E., Marschall, J. C., … & Lawler, K. (2017). Low-income older adults’ needs and preferences for mHealth for self-management in multiple chronic conditions. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 36(10), 1234-1251. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464815624149
Reisdorf, B.C. and Groselj, D. (2022). Internet access and government censorship 2018–2021. Nature Human Behaviour, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01372-y
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