Africa: Health, Education, Opportunity At Stake, Amid Stubborn Digital Gender Divide: [UN News] As transformative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence continue to reshape the global economy, millions of women and girls remain excluded from the digital world - denied not only access to opportunity, but also the chance to shape their own futures. http://newsfeed.facilit8.network/TKLKt5 #DigitalDivide #WomenEmpowerment #AIForGood #GenderEquality #TechForChange
Mastodon (Tusky), Signal, Matrix and E-Mail work fine in low bandwidth situations. The web is unusable.
Portland’s Free Geek teams up with Comcast for technology drive to bridge digital divide https://www.byteseu.com/937813/ #comcast #ComcastPortland #DigitalDivide #FreeGeek #KOIN #MountHoodCommunityCollege #Technology
Spring is the perfect time to clear out your pile of old electronics. Free Geek Twin Cities could take them off your hands while helping the community. #MNastodon #Minneapolis #TwinCities #RetroComputing #RetroTech #DigitalDivide https://twincitiesgeek.com/2025/04/free-geek-twin-cities-is-reducing-waste-and-bringing-tech-to-communities-in-need/
https://www.europesays.com/uk/10216/ COVID Internet Connectivity Crisis Has Eased For Most Families, But Risks Remain – The 74 #Cleveland #detroit #DigitalDivide #Internet #News #Pandemic #Technology #UK #UnitedKingdom
Connecting every school to the internet sounds simple... until you see the infrastructure gap.
The Giga project is tackling this head-on with fiber, mesh networks, and
creative problem-solving.
What tech would you use to get the last mile covered?
"In sum, while BEAD was not as ambitious as a Green New Deal–style program, which would enlist an entirely public and unionized workforce, it was better than a garden-variety neoliberal public-private partnership with zero regard for labor standards.
Fiber-optic systems handle growing bandwidth demands through equipment upgrades, which require long-term maintenance crews — meaning stable employment and durable internet for these communities for decades to come. Instead of this promising vision, rural Americans now face the prospect of receiving inferior internet service while the potential for sustainable union employment evaporates in favor of satellite technology that requires minimal ongoing workforce investment in their communities.
By the time Biden left office, his administration had just finished approving state proposals, setting the stage for implementation. So long, BEAD. We hardly knew ye.
The promise of laying fiber-optic cable was that it would require workers on the ground everywhere, creating jobs throughout rural America. By contrast, Starlink satellites are made in two locations in Washington and Texas, launched from Cape Canaveral, and managed remotely from SpaceX headquarters — bypassing any meaningful job creation in the communities that stood most to benefit."
https://jacobin.com/2025/03/musk-starlink-rural-internet-jobs
T-Mobile’s UScellular Takeover Sparks Major Backlash: Higher Prices, Job Losses & Rural Risks! 
#TMobile #UScellular #TelecomNews #WirelessIndustry #FCC #RuralConnectivity #MobileNetworks #5G #ConsumerRights #PriceHike #TechNews #BroadbandAccess #WirelessMerger #DigitalDivide
https://www.techi.com/t-mobile-uscellular-merger-raises-rural-and-pricing-concerns/
Super proud of the work that the team at ODLAN has accomplished this year. Combatting online hate and building tools for inclusive digital participation for Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ communities are absolutely critical in 2025's digital landscape.
Last year, we expanded digital safety training, bridged the tech gap, and supported 2SLGBTQIA+ communities online.
See our impact at https://odlan.ca/annual-reports
Together, we’re making digital spaces safer & more inclusive!
I have been trying to compile #OsmAnd for Android from the source since yesterday. And I am trying to do this over mobile Internet which isn't going to provide stable speed. The repos are huge that even doing a shallow clone results around 1 GB in size.
Access to stable Internet with unlimited bandwidth is a big barrier for #FOSS contribution. In a country like #India many survive over limited Internet with unstable bandwidth. This #DigitalDivide has to be bridged through public investment.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick aims to revamp Biden’s $42B broadband grant program with a 'tech-neutral approach,' potentially benefiting SpaceX’s Starlink. 
#Broadband #TechNews #SpaceX #Starlink #DigitalDivide #Biden #TechPolicy #Connectivity
We approach educational institutions in and around Puducherry and help them set up & nurture a #GLUG in their institutions. The GLUGs within each institution are responsible for propagating our stated principles and help them step into the FOSS ecosystem. We also organize an annual FOSS conference in Puducherry & discuss the state of digital commons here and ways to improve them. We strongly believe that public institutions should adopt #FOSS & #OpenStandards in the public interest. We also contribute data to #OpenStreetMap, #Wikipedia & #BeaconDB projects. We track the state of public infrastructure in #Puducherry by mapping them in #OSM. For example, by mapping street lights, bus stops, public toilets, drinking water, etc. We demand the UT & Union govt. to safeguard citizen's fundamental right to privacy and bring data breaches to their notice. We campaign for an inclusive digital society. Some of our members also build and release their own FOSS projects. We also organize #Mapathon & #Hackathon to contribute to digital commons. We strive to bridge the #DigitalDivide through FOSS & Commons. We demand the state to strengthen the public telecom & Internet provider #BSNL and it's infrastructure.
Monopolisten wollen den Himmel kontrollieren! Satelliteninternet darf nicht zur Spielwiese für Konzerne werden. Freier Zugang zum Netz ist ein Menschenrecht! #Netzneutralität #DigitalDivide
A new #digitaldivide is grounded in access to full OS computers with full-feature applications. folks folks have them and some folks don't. Everyone needs them. #edtech #edleadership #technology
I have no idea if this will get traction but am putting it out there to the fediverse. Am also curious to see if anyone has had the same idea.
Come October 2025 Microsoft is going to end support for Windows 10. (see https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/end-of-support) There are concerns this is going to result in a sudden influx of eWaste as many computers won't support the upgrade to Windows 11. Whilst there are options to continue using Windows 10 (ranging from "Who cares?" to "Let's pay Microsoft for security updates.") the reality is likely going to result in many of these devices being sent for scrap.
In the meantime there is a growing digital divide where people are unable to afford devices to get them internet access due to a multitude of reasons. This can affect an individual in many areas from not having the tools to use at school to not being able to access online services.
Which got me thinking of a new social enterprise / venture / approach to address both issues.
I suspect the vast majority of devices that are (a) still working and (b) cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 can still run Linux OSs like LinuxMint or ChromeFlex. I've had plenty of personal experience with both and can see the potential especially when it means getting online. My daily driver is now a Linux based device which I am using for my current studies. 
So how realistic would be it be to connect the dots and address both issues?
Curious, very curious. Might have to see what social enterprise funding might be available to make this a reality.
Anyone want to join me on the journey?
India's BharatNet program, aiming for broadband in 650K villages by 2025, is set to fall short, with only 199K connected as of January. #BharatNet #India #BroadbandAccess #DigitalIndia #RuralConnectivity #TechNews #DigitalDivide #InternetForAll
https://posivi.com/indias-bharatnet-program-is-set-to-fall-short/
Frustrated Bolivians, battling spotty internet from the state’s China-built satellite, are smuggling in Starlink kits despite the August 2024 ban. #Bolivia #Starlink #InternetAccess #Satellite #TechNews #DigitalDivide #InternetFreedom #ChinaSatellite #StarlinkBan
https://posivi.com/frustrated-bolivians-resorted-to-smuggling-starlink-kits/
"'It's a very difficult problem to communicate to the general public. It's not like an oil spill, where the pelicans are dying. It's not visceral. There's debris you can show them through a telescope. But it's just a dot.'"
The digital divide in action in an Australian country town -- I went to the pop- up market early this morning for some fresh fruit and veg. The person before me paid with her watch. I paid cash. Actually cash I have had in my wallet since before covid, I mostly buy online. The market is a new thing, my only weekly outing.
At what cost are we bridging Africa’s digital divide? 
Written by Muhammed Bello Buhari - Challenges about foreign control, environmental impact, data exploitation, and limited digital sovereignty.
#digitalsovereignity #africa #digitaldivide #environment
https://globalvoices.org/2025/01/18/at-what-cost-are-we-bridging-africas-digital-divide/
