Kansas City Digital Equity Initiative
Rick Usher
Entrepreneur Ecosystem Builder, Local Government Public Policy Expert, Digital Equity Practitioner, Regulatory Due Diligence for Emerging Technologies. Former Assistant City Manager at City of Kansas City, Mo.
The Kansas City, Missouri City Council adopted the Digital Equity Strategic Plan in 2017. This plan defines the path from digital inclusion to economic mobility for our residents and informs the City Council on how the City should support the activities of the Coalition for Digital Inclusion. Kansas City is fortunate to have a highly competitive market for Internet services with a number of ISPs providing gigabit speeds (1,000 mbps). Therefore, our plans are designed to support Internet usage at these speeds. The Digital Equity Strategic Plan identifies strategies for Internet use as a consumer, learner, digital citizen, employee and entrepreneur. The City has no plans for a municipal broadband service due to the number of competitive ISPs with robust Internet infrastructure available to residents.
In 2011, the City entered a development agreement with Google Fiber for the deployment of their symmetric gigabit speed Internet service. In this agreement, the City provides Google Fiber with access to public easements and right-of-way, City-owned properties and facilities, expedited permitting, technical assistance and other support. Evergy (formerly Kansas City Power & Light) entered a parallel agreement with Google Fiber allowing use and access to utility poles and easements for the deployment of their fiber Internet services. Since completion of the project, we have determined through Census data that Google Fiber is available to over 94% of our 486,000 residents including residents of our most economically-distressed neighborhoods where incumbent ISPs have had a pattern of disinvestment in Internet services. The provisions and services of the development agreement have also been offered to incumbent ISPs.
The City has also adopted a Small Cell Pole Attachment Policy and standard agreement for wireless service providers deploying 5G services throughout the city. This policy expedites the review, approval and permitting process by providing certainty and predictability to the process. To date, the City has entered into agreements with 8 wireless services providers.
The City participates in digital equity and digital inclusion efforts through our partnership with the Coalition for Digital Inclusion and where I am serving on the Coalition’s Steering Council. Digital inclusion efforts are often described with the three-legged stool analogy and the Coalition is serving those demands for 1) raising awareness of Internet services available to low-income residents most affected by the digital divide; 2) providing access to computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones; and, 3) providing training and supporting the skills to successfully utilize the Internet and participate in the digital economy.
Some highlights of the Coalition’s success in digital inclusion are: 1) Digital Upcycling Program – City of Kansas City, Missouri, donates surplus computers to PCs for People (formerly Connecting for Good) for refurbishing and redeployment to low-income residents 2) Internet Access Assistance Program – Payment assistance program for Internet services for households at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level operated by KCDigital Drive in partnership with the Mid-America Assistance Coalition 3) Broad range of digital life-skills training, advanced training, workforce training and digital economy training programs across non-profits and government agencies 4) Digital Navigators and Tech Access Support provided at the Kansas City Public Library 5) Broadband Resource Rail operated by the University of Missouri System and created by Sourcelink provides digital access and digital inclusion resource partners.
The City is now working with the Coalition for Digital Inclusion, the KC Chamber of Commerce, and other to develop a digital equity public policy and workplan for the Kansas City region.
The Kansas City Coalition for Digital Inclusion has been leading the effort in the KC region for the last eight years. This successful collaborative partnership has again brought the City recognition as a Digital Inclusion Trailblazer by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. The efforts of our membership and new partnerships that have formed since the COVID-19 Pandemic raised awareness of the educational, social, healthcare and economic disparities accentuated by the digital divide led to the City Council's adoption of Resolution 200411 directing the City Manager to develop and implement public-private partnerships to effectuate digital equity for residents, students and small businesses in Kansas City, Missouri.
June 10, 2020 - Presentation to Transportation Infrastructure & Operation Committee with Gwen Grant, Urban League, Carrie Coogan, Coalition for Digital Inclusion and Rick Usher, Assistant City Manager.
Defining the Digital Divide in Kansas City
The digital divide in Kansas City is defined primarily as affordability as the barrier low-income residents have to subscribing to Internet services. We know a lot about the digital divide in the Kansas City region based on these data stories from mySidewalk:
- KC Connectivity Report - covering the city limits of Kansas City, Mo.
- Digital Inclusion for Jackson County, Mo.
- Digital Inclusion for Clay County, Mo.
- Digital Inclusion for Platte County, Mo.
- Digital Inclusion for Johnson County, Kan.
- Digital Inclusion for Wyandotte County, Kan.
Reliable and Sufficient Internet Speeds for Distance Learning, Remote Work and Participation in the Digital Economy
Why is there a stated preference for providers who can supply Internet throughput of 100 Mbps download / 25 Mbps upload? This preference is based on the work of BroadbandNow in their report, The State of Broadband in America Q2 2020, and their recommendation to the Federal Communications Commission for an updated definition of the term "broadband" from 25 Mbps download / 3 Mbps upload to 100 Mbps download / 25 Mbps upload to reflect the shifting needs of an increasingly digital economy.
Kansas City is recognized by Overheard on Conference Calls as first among The Best Cities for Remote Workers. We are seeking to bring remote working opportunities to low-income households to foster economic mobility.
Regional Collaboration is Needed to Close the Digital Divide
On September 23, 2020, The Beacon reported, "Philanthropy groups have been helping to pay for hotspots and devices for schools, but it’s not a permanent solution, said Rick Usher, assistant city manager for Kansas City who also sits on the board of the Kansas City Coalition for Digital Inclusion." Their article, With Schools Taking Place Online, Kansas City Families Are Still Struggling To Get Connected, highlights the fact that mobile wifi hotspots are not a viable, long-term solution for distance learning and closing the digital divide.
LeanLab Education - Bridging Barriers
Jackson County Executive proposes $5 million funding package for school districts in the County
KC Schools Technology & Connectivity Access Fund
What can the KC community do to support digital equity?
Funding is always the first answer to this question but donors want to know their dollars are having a positive effect on the community we are serving.
SchoolSmartKC Technology & Connectivity Fund
Donate surplus computers, hardware and electronics to be refurbished in digital inclusion programs operated by PCs for People Kansas City (formerly Connecting for Good). At the City of Kansas City, Missouri, we have a Digital Upcycling Agreement with PCs for People Kansas City and have donated over 650 PCs, laptops and tablets so far in 2020. Update: On September 3, 2020, the City donated an additional 729 PCs, laptops and tablets to PCs for People (video).
The Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Employer Laptop Challenge seeks to recruit employers across the Fed region to donate 5,000 computers for use in digital inclusion programs.
Employee volunteer activities to support non-profits engaged in the Kansas City Coalition for Digital Inclusion.
Join the Kansas City Coalition for Digital Inclusion each first Friday morning at 10:30 a.m.
How are Internet Service Providers and Wireless Service Providers meeting the needs for digital inclusion and digital equity in Kansas City?
In 2011, the City's of Kansas City, Mo. and Kansas City, Kan. were announced at the first Google Fiber cities in the U.S. While the digital divide has been persistent in Kansas City since the advent of the Internet, Google Fiber's marketing campaign made it front page news and this brought scrutiny to the agreement the City had made for the Google Fiber deployment. In this reports from November 2019 - Google Fiber in Kansas City: there is no such thing as free infrastructure, the authors from the University of Sydney and Arizona State University come to these conclusions:
"Given the persistence of the digital divide in the US, especially within urban areas, Google Fiber had managed to manifest an equitable roll-out; and to maintain a socio-spatial distribution that favoured neighbourhoods with younger, lower income, minority populations."
". . . the results of our analysis suggest that both Kansas City and Google Fiber met this obligation in terms of achieving an equitable distribution of telecommunication services."
(Makes no reference to the 300 Community Connections for schools, libraries, community centers, government buildings and nonprofits provided in the City's agreement)
Related Local Presentations and Events:
August 13, 2020 - Digital Divide for Equitable Education - KCChamber Bridging the Digital Divide for an Equitable Education: A Learning Session - VIDEO
August 12, 2020 - The PorterhouseKC Digital Equity and Entrepreneurship - VIDEO
July 21, 2020 - Bridging the Digital Divide in the COVID-19 Era: A Virtual Fireside Chat - VIDEO
June 3, 2020 - State of Digital Inclusion in Kansas City - KC Library, John Horrigan, Katie Boody - VIDEO
News Coverage:
August 25, 2020 - How Community Coalitions Are Bridging the Digital Divide (LeanLab & KC Coalition for Digital Inclusion) - Digital Promise
July 29, 2020 - KCMO digital equity effort aimst to boost remote learning, work access for families, entrepreneurs - Startland News
July 22, 2020 - Group helps parents with computer gear for remote learning - KMBC
July 14, 2020 - Kansas City digital divide hampers with school online learning | School Authority | kctv5.com
July 4, 2020 - Report: 36% Of Missouri Students Can't Learn From Home During Coronavirus Because Of Poor Internet Connections - KCUR
June 10, 2020 - Group wants KCMO to take “most aggressive effort ever” to get internet access in every household - KSHB
June 8, 2020 - The audacious goal: Get all of KC digitally connected, 'whatever it takes' - LINC KC
May 28, 2020 - Bridging the Digital Divide in the Work-From-Home Era - The Beacon
April 24, 2020 - LEANLAB secures $460K to help schools buy devices, WiFi hotspots for students sidelined by COVID-19 - Startland News
April 22, 2020 - Bedell: ‘Chalkboard era’ of education has become irrelevant KCPS bridges digital divide amid COVID-19, beyond - KSHB
April 17, 2020 - KCPS Students Get Technology With Help From Local Nonprofits - KMBC
March 26, 2020 - LEANLAB: Homebound KC students need $4.6M in tech, WiFi hotspots to bridge digital divide amid Coronavirus creep - Startland News
Related posts:
August 13, 2020
Senior Sales and Account Management Executive - building communities by mentoring youth through coaching, outreach, and leadership!
4 年This is great Rick! Looking forward to seeing how this wonderful initiative works out for everyone.