That the City Manager is requested to report on progress and efforts made to date to provide greater access to internet services citywide for low income residents

City of Cambridge O-7 ORIGINAL ORDER IN CITY COUNCIL February 12, 2018 COUNCILLOR ZONDERVAN MAYOR MCGOVERN VICE MAYOR DEVEREUX COUNCILLOR SIMMONS WHEREAS: Digital access has become a necessity and one of the fundamental equity issues of our time; and WHEREAS: The City Council has expressed a continuing desire for the City to work on digital access issues since 2005; and WHEREAS: The Cambridge school system has started to distribute Chromebooks, computers that are specifically designed to require internet access; and WHEREAS: Many children in our community at all grade levels do not have access to affordable internet at the speeds required to complete assignments and take full advantage of the many online resources, including those provided by our schools; and WHEREAS: A recent Stanford study indicates that internet access plays an important role in closing the achievement gap; and WHEREAS: The city’s 2015 “Blue Ribbon Commission on Income Inequality” found that during focus groups, many residents cited “the cost of internet as an issue” and recommended looking at ways to improve digital access, particularly for low income residents; and WHEREAS: Comcast offers an affordable option within Cambridge city limits (Internet Essentials) which at 15 MBPS does not meet the FCC’s official definition of broadband internet (25 MBPS); and WHEREAS: Free internet options exist in Cambridge including WiFi hotspots in Kendall Square, near MIT, Harvard Square, and municipal libraries, though these options are not always available or convenient for students and working adults; and WHEREAS: Recent changes at the federal level by the FCC including the repeal of net neutrality and the end of Lifeline, a policy which was designed to help low income families specifically, are likely to raise the cost of internet access even further for consumers over time; now therefore be it

ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to report on progress and efforts made to date to provide greater access to internet services citywide for low income residents, including: • any available data on uptake of Comcast’s Internet Essentials offering • plans for expanding free WiFi hotspots throughout the city • potential for wireless broadband options and their ability to help low income residents • The status and operational health of the WiFi system installed by the city in Newtowne Court in 2007 • planned course of action based on the Cambridge Broadband Task Force recommendations and Tilson Report options 1, 2 and 3; and be it further ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to report back to the City Council on future actions to be taken which will improve digital access throughout the city and ensure that every Cantabrigian has internet access that is affordable, reliable, and secure.