Access is the availability of a given resource or service, regardless of whether the individual chooses to use it. This Plan refers to “broadband access,” which is the availability of infrastructure that can deliver broadband service; and “device access,” which refers to the availability of a device if an individual chooses to use one.
Broadband adoption is the amount of residential subscribership to high-speed internet access.
Assistive Technology (AT) is any item, device, or piece of equipment used to maintain or improve the independence and function of people with disabilities and seniors, in education, employment, recreation, and daily living activities.
The telecommunications link used to transport traffic from a geographically distant point, such as a wireless base station, to a significant aggregation point in the network, such as a mobile telephone switching office or Internet peering point.
The maximum data transfer rate from one point to another at a given time period over a network or the rate at which data can be transmitted across a network.
Barriers to broadband can be many things, but often center around broadband availability and affordability. This Plan highlights barriers in detail in Chapter 4, Current State of Digital Equity: Needs Assessment.
Broadband commonly refers to high-speed Internet access that is always on and faster than traditional DSL or dial-up access. Broadband is delivered through multiple technologies, like fiber optic cables, fixed antenna wireless, satellite, mobile, and cable modem.
A type of network bridge that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC), radio frequency over glass (RFoG) and coaxial cable infrastructure.
The carrier that commits (or is required by law) to provide service to any customer in a service area that requests it, even if serving that customer would not be economically viable at prevailing rates.
The smallest geographic unit for which the Census Bureau collects and tabulates decennial census data.
Census tracts are small, relatively permanent geographic entities within counties (or the statistical equivalents of counties) delineated by a committee of local data users. Generally, census tracts have between 2,500 and 8,000 residents and boundaries that follow visible features.
Community Anchor Institutions are not-for-profit entities that facilitate publicly accessible internet service to vulnerable populations, including NTIA-defined covered populations, and those that lack access to gigabit-level broadband service.
A company that offers local telephone service in competition with the legacy telephone company.
Connectivity is the ability to link to and communicate with other computer systems, electronic devices, software, or the internet.
Covered populations are defined within the Digital Equity Act and funds were issued proportionally with the number of individuals in those demographics. These are:
Cyberbullying is the willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.
Cybersecurity is the art of protecting networks, devices, and data from unauthorized access or criminal use and the practice of ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.
A fiber optic cable that is laid and ready for use, but for which the service provider has not provided modulating electronics; usually contrasted to lit fiber, which is fiber optic cable in use to provide wired communications.
A standard for the transmission of data over a cable network.
A device refers to an electronic product connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or a physical wired connection. Devices include smartphones, desktop computers, laptop computers, and tablets. Devices can also include other products such as smart TVs or smart thermostats that connect to the internet.
Digital dignity means that every person should have the same access to participate in the digital world. Digital dignity, as used in this Digital Equity Plan, refers to how individuals feel about using technology: all individuals deserve to feel like they can participate online comfortably and with human dignity that respects their personal information and individual preferences in their use of the internet and related technology.
The digital divide is the gap between those who have affordable access, skills, and support to effectively engage online and those who do not.
The Digital Divide Index (DDI) is a data analysis framework developed by the Purdue Center for Regional Development. The DDI assesses physical access to technology and related socioeconomic factors that could limit digital skills and use. The DDI score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher numbers indicating a more significant digital divide. Data for this index comes from the five-year American Community Survey and Ookla Speedtest open dataset. The index combines many factors into two scores related to infrastructure access and demographic factors to determine a locality’s DDI score.
Digital equity is a goal to ensure that everyone has equal access to technology tools, computers, and the Internet and has the knowledge and skills to use them effectively.
The Digital Equity Act (DEA) provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion. They aim to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy.
A digital equity asset refers to a community’s existing resources that are used to facilitate, improve, and enhance digital equity.
Digital hygiene refers to a set of best practices that serve as a first line of defense against digital threats.
Digital Inclusion refers to the activities necessary to ensure that all individuals and communities, including the most disadvantaged, have access to and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This includes five elements: affordable; internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of the user; access to digital literacy training; quality technical support; and applications and online content designed to enable and encourage self-sufficiency, participation and collaboration.
Digital literacy is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.
Digital Navigators are trained staff who work with residents on digital literacy including home connectivity and how to search for or apply for jobs and critical services.
Digital redlining is discrimination by internet service providers in the deployment, maintenance, or upgrade of infrastructure or delivery of services. The denial of services has disparate impacts on people in certain areas of cities or regions, most frequently based on income, race, and ethnicity.
Digital skills refer to the skills – technical and cognitive – required to find, understand, evaluate, create, and communicate digital information in a wide variety of formats.
A family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), the most commonly installed DSL technology, for Internet access.
Digital skills training is any course, instruction, tutorial, program, resource, or guide that provides or offers lessons to improve digital skills.
Download speed is the rate that data or information can be received by a user’s computer or device from the Internet.
A type of digital transmission service. Traditionally, Ethernet operates at 10 megabits per second (Mbps) (also known as 10-Base-T), although 100-Base-T (100 Mbps) and Gigabit (1,000 Mbps) Ethernet are also available.
Federal Communications Commission
Is used to specify those that use fiber to connect the subscriber because most telecommunications networks use fiber in some part of their networks. FTTH may be more expensive to install currently but offers significant savings in terms of maintenance when compared to copper alternatives.
Is the operation of wireless communication devices or systems used to connect two fixed locations (e.g., building to building or tower to building) with a radio or other wireless link, such as laser bridge.
Gigabits per second (Gbps), or 1000 Megabits per second, is a unit of measure for indicating how much data can be transferred in a network. Much higher than Megabits per second, Gigabit-speed networks are preferred for community institutions, businesses, schools, and homes.
Hardware refers to the physical components of devices that can be seen and touched.
A region of space around the Earth where satellites and other spacecraft are placed in orbits that are very high above the planet’s atmosphere.
High-speed internet access refers to the ability to connect to internet speeds that meet or exceed the FCC threshold for “served”, inclusive of all infrastructure and/or affordability concerns required for that connection.
A hotspot is a physical location where people may obtain Internet access, typically using Wi-Fi technology. Public hotspots may be created by a business for use by customers, such as coffee shops or hotels. Personal or mobile hotspots let users connect their smartphones to other devices for Internet access.
Known as the IIJA, this is federal legislation passed in 2021 that allocated $1.2 trillion in infrastructure spending, including $65 billion for broadband and digital equity. This legislation created the BEAD and Digital Equity Act programs.
Internet refers to the worldwide network of computers that transmit and receive data to and from one another.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are companies that provide users (individuals or businesses) with access (a connection) to the Internet and related services.
The final leg of a telecommunications network that delivers service to retail end-users (customers). Last-mile network connections come from middle-mile networks.
Is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25.
Megabits per second (Mbps) are units of measurement that generally refer to upload and download speeds to measure the file size of data transferred per second over a channel and are used to show how fast a network or Internet connection is.
The telecommunication network of robust, high-speed fiber or fixed wireless that brings broadband close enough to a residence or business so an internet service provider (ISP) may provide internet access. Middle-mile connects to the global internet backbone.
A piece of customer premise equipment typically managed by a broadband provider as the last connection point to the managed network.
A large group of residences or businesses that need internet. For example, apartment buildings and shopping centers.
A network is a system that connects two or more computing devices for transmitting or sharing information.
An emergency response system that integrates the core functionalities of the E911 system and also supports multimedia communications (such as texting, e-mail, and video) to the PSAP and to emergency personnel on the ground.
A software development model by which the source code to a computer program is made available publicly under a license that gives users the right to modify and redistribute the program.
Phishing is a technique for attempting to acquire sensitive data, such as bank account numbers, through a fraudulent solicitation in email or on a website, in which the perpetrator masquerades as a legitimate business or reputable person.
Any attachment by a cable television system or provider of communications service to a pole, duct, conduit, or right-of-way owned or controlled by a utility.
Public-private partnerships are formal agreements between private industry and public, governmental entities that seek to mutually benefit their residents, businesses, and community institutions.
Using devices and communications networks to remotely collect and send diagnostic data to a monitoring station for interpretation. For example, measuring blood pressure when a patient is at home.
Rights-of-Way (ROW) are legal rights to pass through property owned by another. ROWs are frequently used to secure access to land for digging trenches, deploying fiber, constructing towers and deploying equipment on existing towers and utility poles.
A description of a system that can accommodate greater usage.
An agreement between a user and a service provider defining the nature of the service provided and establishing metrics for that service, trouble reporting procedures and penalties if the service provider fails to perform.
Service plan refers to the specific plan that you subscribe to for the use of internet service. Service plans are typically monthly subscriptions.
A digital meter (typically electric) located on the customer premises that records energy usage and has two-way communications capabilities with utility systems.
Stakeholders are any individuals, groups, and/or organizations involved in, impacted by, or interested in State and Local broadband efforts.
Symmetrical refers to the state of having identical download and upload speeds.
Telehealth or telemedicine is the use of high-speed, high-capacity internet to support long-distance healthcare services, patient and provider education, and healthcare administration.
A telephone service that enables persons with TTYs, individuals who use sign language and people who have speech and hearing disabilities to use telephone services by having a third party transmit and translate a call. Consumers can access these services by using, for example, video phones, computers, web-enabled devices, captioned telephones, and TTYs.
A TTY (teletypewriter) is a communication device used by people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have severe speech impairment.
Locations where Internet service is at or above the FCC threshold but with no access to broadband service at speeds 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload.
Universal design is a concept in which products and environments are designed to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaption or specialized design.
Unserved refers to locations where internet service is at or below the FCC threshold of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload.
Upload speed is the rate that data or information is transferred from a user’s computer or device to the internet.
