The National Urban League and the Broadband Opportunity Coalition

Information by the National Urban League (NUL)

Not only does the Urban League fight for economic self-reliance, parity, and civil rights, NUL has also joined the Broadband Opportunity Coalition (BBOC) to help promote digital inclusion.

About the BBOC

The Broadband Opportunity Coalition (BBOC) is a partnership between One Economy Corporation, the National Urban League, NAACP, National Council of La Raza, Asian American Justice Center, and League of United Latin American Citizens. These organizations have created an unprecedented national partnership committed to broadband adoption. The goal is to create a sustainable information and support ecosystem that will overcome barriers to broadband adoption and leverage technology to produce enhanced socioeconomic outcomes.

The Problem

The paradox of the Digital Age is that while technology has the capacity to bring people together and connect people to information, it simultaneously presents the threat of deepening the divide between society’s information “haves” and “have nots”, often referred to as the digital divide.

As a nation, we have failed to realize the potential of technology to deliver socioeconomic progress.

The Approach

“Make It Easy Where You Are”

The BBOC understands that in the Digital Age, individuals, regardless of income, demand information on a 24/7 basis in ways that meet them where they are in terms of time, place, literacy and language.

Our goal is to produce what we call the “social dividend” or value for individuals by way of improved socioeconomic outcomes, such as educational advancement, improved health and employment. Our adoption approach is multi-faceted – it provides an individual with content, training, and affordable connections.

The BBOC will accomplish its goals through the following: We present the following integrated approach to broadband adoption that we would be able to deploy on a much wider scale under BTOP:

1. Digital Connectors & Human Capital
2. Relevant Content
3. Public Education/Awareness
4. Access @ Home
5. Computer Centers

Areas to Be Served

Our efforts focus on 350 communities in AL, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MS, MO, NC, NJ, NM, NY, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WV where we have defined public housing, Digital Connector, and BBOC partners to help us target over 8 million low-income households (below $35,000) in predominantly African-American and Latino communities for broadband subscribership.

Our reach extends nationally though targeted awareness and education efforts. We project 637,500 households and 1,651,000 individuals (2.59 per household) will be connected to broadband from our activities. 800,000 individuals will also receive training.