20 YEARS OF CONNECTING THE NATION

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Right now, 17.2% of rural residents lack sufficient access to the internet. No discussion on the Digital Divide is complete without a conversation about the unique challenges for and opportunities for expanding broadband across rural communities.

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November 17 is GIS day making this panel timely and more relevant than ever.  Panelists will discuss how the focus on improved broadband data has changed over the years, why it’s critical to finally closing the gap between those who have access and those who do not, and how a new approach to gathering broadband coverage data is expected to finally create real change at the federal level in 2022.

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Connected Nation is marking 20 years of service in 2021. Through the last two decades, the national nonprofit has benefitted from experienced leadership. In this panel, we bring together Connected Nation’s leadership through the years to discuss how things began, how work to close the Digital Divide progressed, and what’s next on the horizon.

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The need for supporting learning is, perhaps, the most easily understood aspect of how the Digital Divide impacts our communities and families. The pandemic forced schools to shut down and millions of kids who did not have the internet access they needed for online classrooms lost months if not a year’s worth of learning. 

In this panel, we will discuss the importance of broadband at home for education, how technology is impacting the way the modern classroom is changing, including how teachers leverage tech, and what’s next for educators, parents, and students.

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The COVID-19 pandemic changed the discussion around broadband. Rather than asking “why” someone might need internet access and better connectivity as they did pre-pandemic, most are now asking “what” needs to be done to expand access to all.  

This panel will focus on the impact of 2020 on the future of the Digital Divide, including what are expected to be far reaching effects of how a difficult year has changed the discussion around access, adoption, and use of technology.

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This panel will give audience members insight on how countries outside the US are tackling the need to expand access to the internet and its resources. Panelists will explore what’s taking place in hard to reach and developing countries as well as rural areas across the US and share how innovators in the broadband space are addressing the need for better connectivity around the world.