Digital access has been a flashpoint throughout the pandemic, as existing inequities along the lines of broadband connections and device availability were laid bare amid the shift to virtual, in D.C. and elsewhere. As the reality set in that lower-income communities and communities of color were being disproportionately affected by both COVID-19 and the digital divide, it brought a response.

Within days of remote schooling beginning, for instance, Comcast began offering two months of free internet through its Internet Essentials program; that offer has since been extended. The telecomms giant has also doubled its download speed as of March.

D.C.’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) also pledged to connect 25,000 student households to free internet access. About 9,000 students had signed on through the Internet for All Initiative as of February, according to the D.C. Policy Center.

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