At Michael Baker International, we are celebrating Digital Inclusion Week, an opportunity to promote digital equity in communities nationwide. Our Broadband team is working to close the digital divide, enable broadband for all, and equip communities with the tools and resources needed to better connect, learn and grow. We believe that inclusion is not just a value statement; it’s a commitment to inclusive and equitable decision making at every stage of broadband deployment, from planning to service delivery.
Our Consulting and Technology Solutions (CTS) vertical is working to enhance digital equity and inclusion in the broadband industry. Recently, Michael Baker prepared the Southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA) Connectivity Roadmap for the collaborative consortium of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Carnegie Mellon University and Allies for Children. It lays out a plan for expanding broadband access and digital equity across a 10-county region in southwestern Pennsylvania, providing a solution to address deficiencies or lack of high-speed internet in communities across the region. The Connectivity Roadmap will guide the region in accessing funding, establishing collaborative governance, and advancing shared goals for digital equity and access to broadband for all.
Elsewhere in southwestern Pennsylvania, our team is working alongside a dedicated Task Force and Westmoreland County leadership to expand broadband and provide high-speed, reliable internet to all unserved households in the county. Field crews spent weeks visiting locations across the county to verify where service is unavailable, and a detailed survey is gathering resident input over several months.
Finally, our Broadband Services are supporting the Beaver County Digital Navigator Program in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, an initiative that is focused on five key actions: expanding new fiber infrastructure, connecting county-owned towers via fiber, creating a broadband connection fund, establishing a digital navigator program and conducting continued digital equity analyses.
In honor of Digital Inclusion Week, we chatted with CTS colleagues who are Making a Difference and working to bring broadband access to communities from coast-to-coast.
Sam Garfinkel, Planner
Salt Lake City, Utah
https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/09/kirsten-compitello-the-need-for-a-digital-equity-focus-on-broadband-mapping/