Broad(band) State

We want to understand broadband inequities throughout New York state. This can improve broadband data collection, provide information for broadband expansion projects and allow counties to pursue federal and state grant funding. 

We propose the building of a map highlighting broadband inequities throughout the state. Using machine learning techniques, we will build a scoring system giving each census tract a score on access and analyze which demographic factors contribute greatest to access or lack thereof.

By providing an accurate picture of what broadband looks like in the state, funds can be better funnelled to increase access. If a baseline is provided for states across the US and globally, funds can be better targeted. 

Working on a data driven approach to understand broadband inequities throughout New York state by building a map highlighting access, ISPs, upload-download speeds, etc.

COVID-19 highlighted the scale of broadband inequities throughout New York state and the rest of the world. When children had to go to school online, people had to work from home, vaccine appointments could only be made available by people with digital access, it was evident that broadband inequities are a massive problem and millions of people are affected. 

Lack of available data on the scale of broadband inequities makes trying to allot money for infrastructure difficult. Building the broadband map interspersed with ACS demographic data for New York state will help the government understand the factors responsible for areas being unserved or underserved by internet service providers (ISP's). And then expanding to build one in other states, would give a data driven first step to helping governments figure out where grant money needs to go to, to improve digital access. 

Our solution involves building a map highlighting broadband access throughout New York state interspersed with ACS demographic data. This will let us see at the census tract level what advertised vs actual broadband upload and download speeds are, demographic information at the same spatial level, etc. Building the map required aggregating data at various spatial levels (census block, tract, zip code, etc.) to one spatial level, running a variety of supervised models to understand what demographic factors might affect broadband access and visualization tools like Mapbox to build the map on the frontend.

Our solution would impact all residents in New York state, because broadband is an important commodity to all New Yorkers, whether they are private citizens, policymakers or broadband advocates.

The state doesn't have a clear idea of where precisely broadband inequities are. Which counties are unserved or underserved and which zip codes don't have access. 

We've conducted interviews with everyone from nonprofits working on digital inclusion issues to policy makers on the Reimagine Commission to state officials to understand the current gaps and why they haven't been rectified. As we develop various versions of our final map, we are also engaging with them to test the visualizations out and elicit feedback for improvement. 

The solution will provide all the stakeholders with an understanding of which areas across the state do have broadband connectivity, fast enough speeds, etc. 

Digital inclusion is defined as efforts to remedy deficits in digital equity (whether people can access and effectively use the technology necessary to participate in modern society). In order to remedy deficits in digital equity, you first need to understand who has broadband connectivity or not, and if they do whether the speeds are fast enough to enable them to effectively participate in modern society or not, and whether demographics play any role in determining this distribution. Our broadband map will do precisely that at the census tract level to determine which areas are well-served, underserved and unserved. This provides a data driven approach to then target federal and state grant funding efforts to increase digital inclusion and reduce inequities.   

We picked prototype because we are currently in the process of building our product. As of June 2021, we have completed our data engineering piece and we expect to have our modelling and maps (visualization) tested and ready for a pilot by early August 2021. We've identified and contacted a variety of testers including members of the Commission, nonprofits working in the digital inclusion space, etc. who will test our visualizations to provide feedback once versions of the map are available. 

The US currently functions on an antiquated system of counties applying through an RFP (request for proposals) process for federal and state grants to build broadband infrastructure. Our solution is simple in its brilliance of building a broadband map of New York state so anyone, be it a private citizen, digital inclusion nonprofit or policy analyst within the government can directly access the map to understand where precisely in the state needs funding. It can eliminate the effort expended through a complicated RFP and provide a quicker, more transparent and open way of dispensing grant money for broadband connectivity.

In one year, our solution will serve the 20 million people throughout the state of New York, who at the tip of their fingers will be able to see what their broadband connectivity looks like, what the speeds in their areas are, the internet service providers, demographics of the area, etc.

In five years, we expect to scale significantly to cover more states and serve millions more people. 

Working as part of a capstone project for NYU's Center for Urban Science+Progress. This capstone is sponsored by Schmidt Futures (nonprofit founded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt) and the Reimagine New York Commission (formed by Governor Cuomo in 2020 to build back better after the start of the pandemic and tackle issues like digital inclusion and telehealth).

Full time team: 2 people

Part time team: Sponsors - 2 people, Faculty Advisor - 1 person

Our leadership team consists of two women of color who are recent immigrants to the United States. As women who have overcome significant hardship to get to where we are in life today where we are pursuing graduate degrees in the US. 

The pandemic laid bare massive inequities in New York state. As the wealthy fled to sunnier locals or more remote areas, the rest of us either trudged to work during the pandemic or stayed huddled at home trying to work in the new online only world. Our solution aims to level the playing field by providing a data driven idea of who the haves and the have-nots are in terms of broadband connectivity so that we can work with state and local governments to adequately address broadband grant funding. In addition, our solution will allow every single person with an understanding of who does and does not have a broadband connection depending on where they reside.

We are applying to Solve for:

1. Access to a network of mentors who can help us think strategically about how to advance the work of our solution to other states 

2. Provide publicity and help us with marketing efforts to increase awareness and knowledge of our product

3. Provide us with financial support to increase marketing to spread awareness for our product, help us do something similar in new markets, ability to purchase private, more granular datasets, etc.