To end digital discrimination, California can’t let big telecom companies call the shots

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a bold initiative to build a world class, state-wide fiber-optic “middle mile” network to help close the digital divide and provide all Californians with high-speed access to the internet. But even that may not fix our internet access problem because not everyone agrees on what “access” actually means.

There are two ways to achieve broadband access to the internet. One is with a wired connection, usually through a high capacity fiber-optic cable. Wired connections are fast, reliable, affordable, difficult to hack and have no associated health concerns. The other is through a wireless connection. Wireless connections are slower, subject to interruptions, expensive to maintain, more prone to hacking and come with a host of troubling and unanswered questions about their impacts on our health and the environment.

What happens at the end of the governor’s proposed “middle mile” network will determine whether or not we can finally close the digital divide and realize the dream of universal connectivity.

Will we allow local communities to invest in their own fiber-optic networks and provide their residents with the best possible wired internet connections? Or will we leave Californians in the hands of the wireless industry, which promotes an expensive and inferior technology, while simultaneously engaging in the practice of “digital redlining” which has left so many communities without access?

Right now, there are several industry-sponsored bills in the California legislature that fast-track the deployment of wireless technology by restricting the ability of local authorities to protect their communities with zoning laws and common-sense vetting processes, and placing unreasonably short time limits on the approval process.

How are these bills in the best interests of Californians? Why is the legislature putting its thumb on the scales in favor of wireless broadband access to the internet instead of superior wired connections?

It’s no secret that the major telecoms that make up the wireless industry (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) are big contributors to legislative campaigns. They don’t like the governor’s proposal because it will cut into their potential profits. They’ve got a giant war chest, and they’re going to use it to get what they want — the promotion of wireless “solutions” over wired.

We share the governor’s concern for our kids and their future. We worry about communities of color, where lack of broadband access to the internet can mean the difference between learning a skill or not, of getting a degree or not, and of getting a good job or not. We know that the digital divide was created by the telecoms themselves, as they made the profit-driven decision to avoid installing their new technology in poor and rural communities because the Return on Investment just wasn’t worth it. And we know that if the governor’s proposal leaves the last mile in the hands of the telecoms, minority communities will continue to suffer lack of service, and we will be writing this editorial again in a few years.

We support the governor’s proposal for a state-wide fiber-optic network that provides the “middle mile” so necessary for universal broadband connectivity, but we urge Newsom and all lawmakers not to ignore the “last mile.” Fiber-optic cable to and through the premises is the one and only solution to our digital divide, and anyone who believes the wireless industry will take care of the last mile is either gullible, badly misinformed or looking for a campaign contribution.