Self-described “technologist” and Peabody City Council candidate Matt Molk is sounding an alarm blaring louder and louder around the country.
“The pandemic has put us in fast-forward mode. We need better Internet across the board,” Molk said.
He wants to eliminate Peabody residents’ dependency on Comcast for Internet access in favor of creating a city-owned broadband network. Mayor Ted Bettencourt took a step in that direction by introducing RCN into the city as a local cable provider.
Like Boston Councilor and mayoral candidate Michelle Wu, Molk said the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified dependence on the Internet. Students stuck at home remote learning need the Internet; unemployed workers need it to job hunt and seniors go online to break free from pandemic isolation.
Wu said 15 percent of Boston households don’t have home Internet service and an Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) report published in October highlighted the economic inequalities linked to Internet access.
While residents in wealthy communities like Lynnfield and Marblehead enjoy almost total Internet access, only 76 percent of Lynn children have broadband access and only 56 percent of Lynn seniors.
Internet access, as Molk points out, is as vital as electricity in the 21st century. An access deficiency that leaves one out of four students without Internet and half of Lynn’s senior offline represents a problem that cannot be ignored.
Internet access doesn’t only guarantee educational, employment opportunity and social contact access. News is an increasingly Internet-dependent resource and state Sen. Brendan Crighton and state Rep. Lori Ehrlich have drawn the connection between communities underserved by media outlets and underserved by Internet access.
Establishing Internet equity first requires studying the way access is provided. Mobile devices allow a variety of access options but cable companies remain major players in the Internet access business.
Comcast and Verizon dominate in the market in Lynn and surrounding communities with RCN a provider along with Comcast in Peabody and Revere. These firms, especially Comcast, have a strong grip on the Internet access they provide. In Lynn, for instance, Comcast has a cable contract with the city through 2025.
Exceed your Internet data usage in Lynn and Comcast warns: ” …your bill can be impacted.”
Molk’s call for pulling the plug on Internet dependency provided by cable firms might sound extreme. But the city of Boston is working to guarantee access by launching a digital equity fund and distributing grant money to help youth, seniors and immigrant residents afford Internet access.
“Essex County could do something similar,” concluded the ECCF report.
We think the time for doing so — and more — has arrived.
