A grant from the Federal Communications Commission will help the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) expand affordable, quality and reliable broadband internet service to low-income families, it was announced Thursday.
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks visited San Diego Thursday to announce the more than $230,000 grant to SDHC, which is intended to support marketing and outreach to get households to apply for the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program.
"I'm excited that the FCC, through my "Your Home, Your Internet" pilot program, is able to support the San Diego Housing Commission in its efforts to raise awareness and enrollment of the Affordable Connectivity Program and get its residents online," Starks said. "This grant will help ensure that eligible low-income households in San Diego are not left behind in the digital age and have access to all the benefits that a broadband connection can bring."
The Affordable Connectivity Program provides eligible households with a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service and a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price, a FCC statement reads.
"Earlier this year, the San Diego City Council unanimously declared housing as a human right. But so is access to the internet and often that doesn't get enough attention," said San Diego City Council President Sean Elo- Rivera. "The COVID-19 pandemic made clear the critical role an internet connection plays in our lives.
"The internet allowed many of us to stay connected with family, friends, and work," he said. "Yet others weren't as fortunate. I find this to be unacceptable and untenable especially since the internet was born in California."
The new grant will go to support SDHC's ongoing Digital Inclusion Project to help address the "digital divide" between households with access to technology and the internet and those who do not have access.
"Affordable and reliable access to the internet is essential for more educational and employment opportunities and many aspects of daily life we take for granted today. Families with low income should be able to access the internet like everyone else," said SDHC Interim President and CEO Jeff Davis. "The FCC's grant along with collaboration among many organizations will help to bridge the digital divide."
With the grant, SDHC leaders hope to reach out to 120,000 eligible households in San Diego. Eligible households include more than 17,000 families that receive federal rental assistance from SDHC and more than 137,000 households on the waiting list for SDHC's federal rental assistance.
Additional households with low income throughout the city are also eligible, a SDHC statement reads.
According to a San Diego Association of Governments analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data, the City Heights (16%), San Ysidro (17%) and Barrio Logan/Logan Heights (21%) areas have high concentrations of households with low income that do not have broadband subscriptions. The analysis also found that 17% of seniors age 65 and older in the San Diego region do not have a computer or broadband subscription.
Around 453,000 households countywide are eligible for the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, according to the SANDAG report, but only around 130,000 — or 28% — are enrolled.
