At a time when virtual work and school are part of everyday life for many Marylanders, internet access is a basic necessity. But roughly 520,000 Maryland households lack high-speed internet at home, according to a new report by the Abell Foundation.
The report, by John B. Horrigan, a senior fellow at the Technology Policy Institute, demonstrates how the pandemic has stretched the gap between Marylanders who have access to the internet and those who do not.
“Digital disconnectedness – particularly during a crisis like a pandemic – amounts to social exclusion. Fixing this problem amounts to promoting digital inclusion, a more expansive notion than the digital divide, which has a focus on whether people have (or do not have) online access,” Horrigan wrote.
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