digital divide

Community leaders are partnering with Comcast on an outreach effort to get more people online. The program, called “Project Up” is geared toward Tallahassee Southside neighborhoods.

Florida lawmakers are continuing a years-long effort to improve internet access in rural areas. The issue again caught lawmakers attention last year when schools and businesses were shuttered, forcing people inside and online. The problem: many Floridians had no, or very little access to broadband services needed for them to go to school, apply for unemployment benefits or see their doctors through telehealth.

County leaders are seeking state and federal grants to construct a multi-million dollar fiber network designed to deliver broadband to under-served homes and businesses.

The Leon County School District has rolled out 15 school buses equipped with mobile hotspots and placed them in neighborhoods across the county. Getting online has been a challenge in both rural and urban areas of the state.

The Florida Department of Education is sending out more than 32,000 laptops to school districts to help students with distance learning. About a third of…