Group aiming to close Valley’s ‘digital divide’

Closing this “digital divide” is the focus of the Los Angeles Digital Equity Action League, an effort with the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation and UNITE-LA, an educational nonprofit.

“After more than a decade of the LAEDC calling for universal adoption of high-speed broadband Internet service in every household in the county, we realized just how far away from that goal we have been,” LAEDC CEO Bill Allen said.

More than 400,000 households, representing 1.2 million people, still lack broadband access at home. This deprives them the ability to learn and work from home, access telehealth services, obtain unemployment benefits, make vaccine and testing appointments, and many more activities.

“There’s just so many reasons I think we all recognize that we once and for all have to get all our neighbors online,” he said.

Allen spoke of plans to address the digital divide during the virtual Antelope Valley Economic Development and Growth Enterprise’s Semi-Annual Fall Forum, on Oct. 6.

The Los Angeles Digital Equity Access League is a regional consortium of nearly 200 public and private entities including cities, Los Angeles County, nonprofits, businesses, educational and healthcare institutions.

The group is dedicated to tackle the obstacles to access for all.

“Infrastructure is lacking in the Antelope Valley, it’s a priority area for us,” Allen said.

There is a need to bring in fiber to provide access to all areas of the Valley, as there are neighborhoods that still do not have that necessary infrastructure, he said.

Making available affordable electronic devices to access the Internet is also an obstacle the League is tackling, as well as to increase the supply of digital literacy training so more people can effectively use the technology.

There are many affordable rate options offered by providers in the region, but they are not very well publicized, something else the League seeks to address, Allen said.

Public policy, at the state and federal levels, has not been focused on addressing the digital divide. One of the League’s task forces is dedicated to bringing legislative attention to the matter.

“We invite all of you to participate in these task forces,” Allen said.

The League was identified by the California Public Utilities Commission as the regional broadband consortium for Los Angeles County, which allows the group to work to identify projects that are worthy of state funding for infrastructure, Allen said.

“We would like to work with you to identify each and every household and neighborhood that needs this additional infrastructure,” he said.

The cities of Lancaster and Palmdale have projects of their own on this front, as well as the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, but “it requires all of us,” he said.

“We want to get you engaged with this work, and we won’t rest until we’ve connected every household across Los Angeles County,” Allen said.

Information on the Los Angeles Digital Equity Assistance League is available at ladeal.org

agatlin@avpress.com