Access shapes daily life. Job applications, school assignments, telehealth visits and many government services now happen online. During the COVID-19 pandemic, students without home internet did homework in fast-food parking lots to use free Wi-Fi, which made the divide impossible to ignore.
The gaps are measurable. In a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, 83 percent of white adults said they had home broadband, compared with 75 percent of Hispanic adults and 68 percent of Black adults. Many of those differences shrink when income is taken into account, which shows how closely the divide tracks the racial wealth gap. Rural areas and tribal lands also lack infrastructure.
The federal Affordable Connectivity Program offered up to $30 a month toward internet bills, and up to $75 on tribal lands. It served about 23 million households before its funding ran out and it ended on June 1, 2024. The divide matters because a household without reliable internet is cut off from work, school and care.