New data to help close Philadelphia’s digital divide

Philadelphia is surveying residents to better understand gaps in internet access and support a city-wide digital equity strategy.

Following a request for proposals (RFP) issued late last year, Philadelphia selected telecommunications and systems integrator Wilco Electronic Systems and a group of partners to conduct the Household Internet Assessment survey over the next month. The team includes social impact venture Centri Tech; non-partisan public opinion research firm SSRS; and John Horrigan, the former Research Director for the National Broadband Plan at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The bigger picture

Philadelphia has already made progress on closing the digital divide during the pandemic through its PHLConnectED programme which provides eligible pre-kindergarten and K–12 families with internet access at no cost, and has so far enabled over 17,500 connections. Now the city needs more data to plan the next steps.

Juliet Fink Yates, Digital Inclusion Fellow at the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Innovation and Technology, told Cities Today: “The pandemic amplified and pushed digital equity to the forefront across the country. But it also revealed the holes in the publicly available data that limit our understanding of the scope of the problem. Among the holes is a lack of quality, local and up-to-date data.”

The FCC has set up a taskforce to provide better data and mapping on connectivity but in the meantime, states and municipalities are realising the importance of collecting their own data to address their communities’ needs.

“Philadelphia is one of the few cities nationally that has taken this step since the pandemic to use real-time data to understand and therefore be able to effectively address this problem,” Yates said.

Other examples include Shreveport in Louisiana which put Wi-Fi sensors on rubbish trucks for a fast status update.

Beyond numbers

The survey will be conducted over the phone and available in six languages to ensure that households without internet are reached and that the sample is representative. SSRS will survey 2,500 adult residents selected by random digit dial, including a minimum of 450 households with K-12 children.

The research seeks to determine how many residents still need a reliable internet connection, how people view internet options, and barriers to access. It will also look at the uptake of programmes such as PHLConnectED and the Emergency Broadband Benefit.

“Philadelphia’s city-wide survey will examine not just the size of the city’s digital divide, but also residents’ views on whether digital tools meet their connectivity needs for critical purposes such as schoolwork and telehealth,” said Horrigan. “The survey will also examine reasons why people lack critical tools for access and thereby help inform strategies to close gaps for households with children, low-income households, older adults, and communities of colour.”

Getting uptake on surveys can be tough but the city said a range of measures are in place, including a communications campaign and incentives.

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