The city’s prioritization of digital equity efforts and its focus on digital transformation have helped cement its status as a tech hub — not unlike California’s Silicon Valley. As the city continues its pattern of significant growth, leaders are leveraging a collaborative approach to their inclusion work.
According to Austin’s Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs (TARA) Officer and Department Director Rondella Hawkins, enabling access to affordable and reliable Internet, access to Internet-enabled devices, and an understanding of how to use them has been a priority for the city for decades.
MULTIFACETED PROGRAMMATIC APPROACH
To advance this work, TARA has several different programs that target different aspects of digital inclusion.
Just this year, the Grant for Technology Opportunities Program (GTOP) increased grant size to offer local nonprofits up to $400,000 per year through the Core grant pathway and recently opened for letters of interest.
“This is an annual seed funding to launch a new program,” Hawkins stated. “We’re looking for innovation and new organizations that have a niche — that have a community purpose that they want to serve to address the digital divide.”
Finally, the city acknowledges that connectivity does not mean access when people do not have Internet-enabled devices to use, which is combated in part through the Community PC Program (CPCP), which focuses on refurbishing devices and distributing them to local nonprofits.
Another key group in this space is an advisory commission that is made up of volunteers, known as the Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission (CTTC). Hawkins said that this group meets monthly and has made policy recommendations to the City Council and serves as a way to funnel community feedback and inform funding and policy decisions.
But as Hawkins detailed, all of these moving parts are connected with the city at the heart acting as the facilitator.
THE TECH HUB’S PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Austin has long attracted companies looking to come and test emerging technologies, Hawkins explained, dating back to the early days of cable modem service with companies like Time Warner — now Charter Communications.
More recently, the move to Austin for Tesla headquarters signifies that the city’s draw to technology companies remains strong.
Hawkins credited this in part to the strong regional tech workforce. And while the cost of living in the city is increasing, workforce development opportunities will help to ensure the availability of skilled workers.
In 2023, Hawkins said the city is looking to update its Digital Inclusion Strategic Plan, which was adopted by the City Council in November 2014.
The goal for the updating is to outline a more sustainable model for long-term solutions to digital inclusion. Hawkins noted that some financial assistance opportunities, such as the Affordable Connectivity Program subsidy, are not permanently guaranteed, and the city would like to address these needs in advance.
In addition, the city is looking forward to leveraging its collaborative model to tackle digital inclusion within and beyond the city’s borders, Hawkins said. This includes the new working relationship with Travis County, building a more collaborative model for programs like GTOP and CPCP, and further building out the Digital Navigator program.
