WCNC: Here's how the city of Charlotte plans to close the digital divide
Meilin Tompkins, Lexi Wilson (WCNC)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The city of Charlotte announced Wednesday that it is launching a scaled-up Access Charlotte program in an effort to close the digital divide in the city.
According to the city, building off a successful small-scale pilot program, Access Charlotte will improve and size up to provide free Spectrum Internet and Advanced Wi-Fi to over 5,000 households and 15 community spaces.
With funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, the city will implement the two-year program to pay for in-home internet, as well as allocate dollars toward efforts related to digital navigators.
“We are so excited about launching Access Charlotte on this scale,” Mayor Vi Lyles said. “This is an initiative that can help solve a glaring divide in our community and improve the quality of life for our residents.”
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Households in the Access Charlotte program area are eligible for this initiative regardless of whether they are current Spectrum customers. Those who are not current customers can sign up to request a self-installation kit and start receiving the service by calling 1-855-326-5115 or visiting a specialized Spectrum website. Current customers will automatically be included in the program.
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“Charter is pleased to join with Mayor Lyles and the city to deliver vital broadband through Access Charlotte,” Spectrum Community Solutions Senior Vice President Keith Dardis said. “The city’s commitment to creating this powerful public-private partnership will bring fast, reliable broadband and in-home Wi-Fi to thousands of families across the city — enabling residents to participate fully in today’s digital world for work, learning, entertainment and staying connected.”
Meanwhile, at the Center for Digital Equity in Charlotte at Queens University, their goal is also to close the gap by partnering with public and private sectors to deliver digital inclusion resources to the community.
They connect families to need technology, computers, and digital literacy. According to the Center for Digital Equity, in Mecklenburg County, 56,000 households have no internet access at all.
We hear from families every day say that around $10 a month is a price point they’d be willing to pay to maintain the internet and we know there are not a lot of opportunities at that price point for people to get a reliable connection,” Bruce Clark, the executive director for the Center for Digital Equity, said.
For Mecklenburg County residents who can't afford to pay their internet bill, they can apply for the affordable connectivity program, which provides $30 a month to low-income families.
Clark said reliable internet is critical to everyone these days, whether you're at home, in school, in a career, or even retired.
“We all know that in order to thrive in the world today, to access health care, access jobs, you not only need a computer, internet and you need the skills to bring that all together and create that opportunity in your life,” Clark said.
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