The Digital Divide in the San Diego Region

San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)

Introduction

The internet is a fundamental part of life.

Image of girl participating in online classes — Access to the internet has bee critical during the COVID-19 pandemic for tasks like online learning

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented tremendous challenges, especially for members of our community without internet access.

High-quality, high-speed internet service is referred to as broadband. Today, there are inequities in broadband availability and affordability that impact households and businesses across the region.

The growing gap between people who do and do not have reliable access to broadband and a suitable device for connecting to the internet is known as the digital divide. This divide has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but without new policies and programs to address this issue, the divide will continue to worsen.

SANDAG is leading a taskforce of public and private sector leaders in development of a Regional Digital Equity Strategy and Action Plan to bridge the digital divide.

Learn more: sandag.org/digitalequity

Broadband 101

This image illustrates the broadband network, which are composed of backhaul fiber, middle, and last mile connections. — Fiber is the backbone of internet networks

Broadband service relies on a network of communications infrastructure.

Fiber is the backbone of broadband networks. The middle mile brings the internet to network hubs at population centers. From there, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) make the last mile connection to homes and businesses through wired or wireless technologies such as 5G, fiber, satellite, cable, or DSL.

Not all internet connections are considered "broadband."

California has a new broadband definition of 100/20 Mbps

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines a broadband connection as one with a minimum download speed of 25 Mbps and a minimum upload speed of 3 Mbps, or 25/3 Mbps. However, these speeds are inadequate for today's environment where many people under one household may be online doing school work, telework, or streaming video games or television. Recognizing this, the State of California has set a new broadband standard of 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload.

Learn more about the digital divide, broadband, and why it’s important for everyone to get connected with SANDAG’s Broadband Equity and Digital Equity 101 .

Broadband Access

The digital divide affects urban and rural communities differently.

This map shows where fixed broadband meets the FCC’s broadband standard of 25/3 Mbps. The lack of broadband service in the unincorporated parts of the County means that only 66% of rural communities have access to fixed broadband that meets the FCC’s low broadband threshold. In comparison, 94% of people in the region’s urban areas have access to fixed broadband service.

Most of the region is only served by one or two broadband providers.

The lack of providers leaves rural and tribal communities with little to no choice of broadband service and speed.

Broadband Adoption

A survey by CETF found that 68% of respondents indicated that the reason they lack an internet connection at home is because it's "too expensive". — Affordability of internet service is a significant barrier for households. (Source: CETF 2021 Statewide Broadband Adoption Survey )

Affordability is one of the main barriers preventing people from subscribing to an internet service plan.

The cost for internet plans differs throughout San Diego County, however many rural and tribal communities experience disproportionally higher costs for internet. 

The higher cost internet services tend to be located in areas with limited choices of providers, directly impacting rural, tribal, and low-income communities.

Paying more does not always equate to better service.

Table illustrating the monthly price rates per internet service speeds. For internet service that provides less than 25 Mbps download speeds, households can end up paying up to $250. Whereas internet service speeds of 100 Mbps can cost just over $100. — Summary of internet plans in San Diego County (Source: Broadband Now)

Rural and tribal communities are often constrained in their choice of internet service providers and often end up paying more for speeds that do not meet the minimum 25/3 broadband threshold.

Lack of a computer and/or broadband subscription disproportionately impacts low-income households, seniors, and minority populations.

There's a high concentration of low-income households in the unincorporated, central, and southern parts of the County that lack access to broadband and/or a computer (Source: American Community Survey)

Almost 1 out of 10 of San Diego County’s minority residents lack a computer and/or broadband subscription (Source: American Community Survey)

About 17% of seniors in the region lack access to broadband and/or a computer (Source: American Community Survey)

Map of unemployment rates by ZIP code. As of August 2021, San Diego region’s unemployment rate was 6.6% according to the State of California Employment Development Department (EDD). This regional unemployment rate is still twice as high as the pre-COVID unemployment rate (3.2%). Logan Heights (92113) continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the region. Other ZIP codes experiencing high unemployment rates as of August 2021 include San Ysidro (92173), Campo (91906), Santa Ysabel (92070), Warner Springs (92086), and Chula Vista (91911). 91906 Campo (8.9%)

These communities were also impacted most by the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to face high unemployment rates.

Learn more about this in the SANDAG COVID-19 Employment Analysis.

Broadband Infrastructure

These gaps in broadband service throughout the region are also where the greatest gaps in infrastructure exist.

Image of fiber conduit installed along a trench — Fiber infrastructure deployment requires close coordination and partnerships among public and private agencies.

Although more granular data on broadband infrastructure is unavailable, SANDAG, with the help of Caltrans and data from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), was able to identify the census blocks where broadband providers have invested in fiber.

In addition to fiber that is owned and managed by private companies, government agencies like SANDAG, Caltrans, North County Transit District (NCTD), and Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) have invested in fiber to operate transportation services and systems. Currently, this fiber is exclusively used for transportation purposes but excess capacity could be shared to expand broadband service and bring down the cost of service.

The presence of fiber in the map above does not indicate that fiber or broadband service is widely available throughout that community but simply that fiber is present within that census block. (Source: CPUC, Caltrans, SANDAG)

Strategies to Bridge the Digital Divide

Broadband is a necessary public service and an essential public good. To achieve our vision for a connected region, these seven overarching strategies have been developed to address the wide range digital inequities that exist in the region today.

SANDAG has put forward a set of seven overarching strategies to expand broadband access and adoption. 1. Build consensus that high-quality, reliable, and affordable broadband is an essential public service that contributes toward greater equity. 2. Incorporate broadband into regional and local plans 3. Drive the expansion of a resilient, reliable, and redundant open access middle-mile fiber network 4. Build collaborative partnerships with ISPs to connect middle-mile expansion with last mile deployment in hard-to reach areas. 5. Strengthen partnerships with and between public agencies, community-based organizations, libraries, education and research institutions. 6. Advocate for better public data and greater transparency around household-level service availability, performance, and cost. 7. Advocate for and seek sustainable funding for digital equity programming.

Cover of SANDAG's Regional Digital Equity Strategy — The Digital Equity Strategy will enable rapid broadband deployment and adoption in the San Diego region.

Read more about SANDAG's strategy to bridge the digital divide in the Regional Digital Equity Strategy .

Stay up to date on SANDAG's digital equity initiatives by visiting www.sandag.org/digitalequity .