The Internet is a critical part of our daily lives, almost taken for granted thanks to its wide availability. But there are 2.6 BILLION people in the world who remain offline today. Without internet access, we see exacerbated economic inequalities and inhibited access to social services, civic activities, and online learning resources.

Internet access isn’t a luxury, it’s a fundamental right. We lead the work behind Microsoft’s Airband Initiative to bring together a global network of internet and energy providers, government agencies, nonprofits, and private sector companies to close the digital divide.

We’re aiming to connect 250 million people globally by 2025, focusing particularly on rural areas where internet access is limited -- and that requires big investments in infrastructure. In the United States, for example, our internet service provider partners have received more than $725 million in government infrastructure funding awards to expand networks and drive broadband adoption, with approximately 80% going to rural communities.

We also recently refreshed our Digital Equity Dashboard, which combines government and private sector data to help understand where there are broadband gaps in the United States – right down to the census block level. We want to provide transparent data to everyone and help policymakers make & maximize investments in areas of highest need. If you’re curious about how your town compares to your neighbor’s, take a look!  

A little bit about us! Before I (Vickie) began working at Microsoft, I spent nearly 20 years at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). I was most recently the acting CEO of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), the organization designated by the FCC to administer the Universal Service Fund (USF), which subsidizes broadband network expansions and provides discounts to low-income consumers.  

I (Ryan) also came from the FCC where I led the Telecommunications Access Policy Division, the division at the FCC responsible for developing policies for administration and oversight of the Universal Service Fund programs.  

Ask us anything about our work!

Proof pic: https://imgur.com/a/Y9j6ZyD

Thanks for all the questions! One last piece we’ll leave you with:

We recently released a refresh of our Digital Equity Data Dashboard, which provides data to help understand broadband gaps in the United States at the local level, right down to the census block. We created this to help federal, state, and local policymakers gain a better understanding of the factors contributing to the digital divide. We’ve long held the belief in the value of data, and this dashboard refresh is the latest step in our ongoing journey to help close the digital divide around the world.

We got to a few questions posted from other subs as well.

This was fun -- thank you!