Colorful network cables connected on network switches panel in data center
Media, Inequality & Change Center

Towards Broadband for All

Our Broadband for All project aims to assess and correct the policy failures that enable digital redlining and other exclusionary practices that disproportionately harm low-income families and communities of color.

With these goals in mind, MIC seeks to expand broadband internet access through policy interventions that encourage alternative models of internet service provision, ranging from community mesh networks to municipal broadband. Ultimately, we seek a more democratic and equitable approach to broadband policy in Philadelphia and beyond.

As part of our Broadband for All initiative, in January 2023 the MIC Center teamed up with scholars at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at The Pennsylvania State University to launch the Pennsylvania Broadband Research Institute. We envision the PBR Institute as a hub for developing critical research on broadband policy in Pennsylvania, focusing on state-wide campaigns to expand broadband access to underserved communities throughout the Commonwealth.

Funded by IPMF.

Publications

Tech Policy Press, 2023

Authors: David Berman, Victor Pickard

Read “Another Internet Is Possible—If You Believe It Is”

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, 2022

Authors: Pawel Popiel, Victor Pickard

Read “Against Digital Redlining: Lessons From Philadelphia’s Digital Connectivity Efforts During the Pandemic”