Committee tackles NYC’s digital divide

Providing affordable or free broadband access to a city of more than 8 million is a daunting task. But a movement spearheaded by New York Councilwoman Gail Brewer aims to do just that, and taking a different tack from other U.S. cities trying to build metropolitan Wi-Fi networks.

While cities such as Philadelphia, San Francisco and Los Angeles have decided that Wi-Fi is the way to provide broadband Internet access to residents, New York’s plans have moved at a glacial pace. Providing access to such a large metropolitan area, across five boroughs, is a tricky business without a one-size-fits-all solution, government officials have said.

Brewer, a councilwoman for the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan, has for several years promoted a strategy to close what she views as a “digital divide” between residents who can afford hefty fees for broadband access in the city, and those who can’t. Small businesses and nonprofits also can’t compete effectively because of the high cost of broadband, she said.

Local Law 126, sponsored by Brewer and approved in December 2005, formed the New York City Broadband Advisory Committee. As other cities are in final stages of either building (Philadelphia) or planning (San Francisco) their Wi-Fi networks, New York’s committee means to deliver proof to the mayor that there is, in fact, a major disparity between who in New York has Internet access, broadband or otherwise, and who does not.

The committee plans to deliver findings to the mayor later this year, and then officials will figure out how best to offer broadband.

“What we hope to get out of it … is a combined approach [to broadband],” Brewer said. “We want to discover innovative ways in which technology can be used, and want to expand it so that everyone in [New York] has inexpensive, fast Internet access. It’s not about technology for technology’s sake, but how can nonprofits improve their businesses, how can small businesses get more profits, etcetera.”

Bruce Lai, Brewer’s chief of staff and co-author of Local Law 126, thinks it’s fairly obvious that there is a digital divide in New York. “Just because there is no official study does not mean there is no digital divide.” However, he reasoned that New York’s measured approach to figuring out how to provide broadband access is the best way for the city to deliver it successfully.

“The key issue is not just the network itself,” he said. “A lot of cities think it’s great just building networks. But it’s more about how they conceive the network and how to improve quality of life for residents.”

The committee held its first meeting recently in the Bronx. Representatives from local schools, including high-school and middle-school students, and businesses told the committee about their access to the Internet and gave examples of how affordable broadband access can be made available on a more widespread basis.

Miguel, who attends middle school in the Bronx, testified that kids who have access to the Internet have an edge over students who don’t because they can do research to help them finish homework and projects faster. Of the 50 children in his class, he said only about 10 own computers. Those who don’t must go to local libraries to use the Internet, often standing in long lines to have only a little time to use the Web, he said.

Stuart Reid, co-chairman of Urban Communications Transport Corp., sharply criticized the scenario Miguel described.

“Children shouldn’t have to stand on line to go online,” Reid said. He described how Urban Communications Transport, a private broadband franchise, teamed with the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation to provide 1,200 families in the Bronx with free Internet access.

The project provided families living in the Diego Beekman Houses, a housing project in the South Bronx, with Pentium 3 computers and Wi-Fi access. It also provided computer training, which Reid said is more important than simply handing out computers and Wi-Fi access.

Jose, another Bronx middle schooler, said that his generation is used to getting information quickly and easily from the Internet. Because there is not fast, reliable access to it in his school or in his home or those of his friends, they can easily lose interest in school and learning, he said.

Jose also bluntly noted a difference between adults who grew up without the Internet, such as some of his teachers, and the current generation of students who are Web-savvy.

“Some of the older generation [will tell us], go get a book and start reading,” he said. “But that is something that bores these kids.”

The hope is that public meetings will prove to skeptical city officials that New York needs to solve its digital divide, Lai said. After that, it’s key that policy makers and other leaders in New York “get as many people online as possible” in short order, he added.

More information about the work of the committee can be found at its Web site.