When the pandemic hit the Philadelphia region in 2020, the city’s existing digital divide issues became impossible to ignore.
Thousands more people relied on internet in their homes for the work and schooling they usually did elsewhere. The City of Philadelphia, along with state and federal government, has been working on the issue alongside private partners over the last two years.
In the fall, we got a clearer picture of where internet access stood: In 2019, about 70% of Philadelphia households had access to high-speed broadband access. Data from phone survey of residents this summer showed about 84% of Philadelphia households have broadband access as of 2021, thanks in part to programs like the City’s PHLConnectED, Comcast’s Internet Essentials and the federal Emergency Broadband Benefit, now the Affordable Connectivity Program.
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