“With the Broadband Master Plan initiative, we look forward to learning how to better serve San Diego and eliminate the digital equity divide,” Jonathan Behnke, the city’s CIO, said in a statement. (Behnke was featured in an Industry Insider — California video interview in June.) In parts of the city, like San Ysidro, this divide affects more than 40 percent of households that do not have a broadband subscription.
The master plan is funded by a $500,000 state of California Local Agency Technical Assistance grant. CTC Technology and Energy will lead the planning process.
The plan’s creation has several key goals. Primarily, it aims to increase the availability and affordability of broadband in the city. This work will prioritize underserved communities, low-income housing residents, and public-serving city facilities. It also aims to help the city prepare to maximize the impact of forthcoming federal broadband infrastructure investments.
As part of this plan’s development, the city plans to explore the role public-private partnerships could play. The city has identified seven community-based organizations to collaborate with residents and business owners to understand their digital equity needs: Casa Familiar, the City Heights Community Development Corp., the San Diego Housing Commission, the Urban Collaborative Project, the Sherman Heights Community Center, Somali Family Service of San Diego, and the County of San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce.
More information about the city’s master plan, from the development process to partnerships to various ways to get involved, can be found on the city’s website. This web page also offers a variety of digital equity resources to support community members in getting connected to Internet-enabled devices, technical support and free Wi-Fi service.
This article first appeared in Government Technology, sister publication to Industry Insider — California.
