For digital inclusion, broadband access is just the beginning

South Bend, Indiana's Madi Rogers explains how broadband access is just one aspect of reaching the goal of digital inclusion.

At a Glance

  • About South Bend's Wi-Fi on school buses program (03:18)
  • Making sense of AI for smart cities (07:03)
  • The essential elements of digital inclusion are more than just broadband access (12:24)

Madi Rogers, director of Civic Innovation, City of South Bend, joins the podcast to discuss how South Bend, Indiana, is working toward digital inclusion.

Rogers describes how programs such as Bus Wi-Fi and the development of South Bend's Digital Equity Roadmap are laying the groundwork to provide affordable broadband access to residents. She explains how broadband access is just one aspect of reaching the goal of digital inclusion. 

Click on the caption button for a lightly edited transcript. 

Here are a few topics we covered:

  • Background on Rogers and her role at the City of South Bend, Indiana (00:49)

  • Bus Wi-FI: The City of South Bend's Wi-Fi on school buses program (03:18)

  • Making sense of AI for smart cities (07:03)

  • Developing South Bend's Digital Equity Roadmap (10:05)

  • The essential elements of digital inclusion are more than just broadband access (12:24)

  • Device access and education are important components of digital inclusion (14:33)

  • Progress in delivering broadband access and managing middle-mile networks (21:50)

  • How to continue to provide affordable broadband access without the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) (29:55)

About the Author(s)

Kelsey Ziser

Senior Editor, Light Reading

Kelsey is a senior editor at Light Reading, co-host of the Light Reading podcast, and host of the "What's the story?" podcast.

Her interest in the telecom world started with a PR position at Connect2 Communications, which led to a communications role at the FREEDM Systems Center, a smart grid research lab at N.C. State University. There, she orchestrated their webinar program across college campuses and covered research projects such as the center's smart solid-state transformer.

Kelsey enjoys reading four (or 12) books at once, watching movies about space travel, crafting and (hoarding) houseplants.

Kelsey is based in Raleigh, N.C.

Phil Harvey

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Phil Harvey has been a Light Reading writer and editor for more than 18 years combined. He began his second tour as the site's chief editor in April 2020.

His interest in speed and scale means he often covers optical networking and the foundational technologies powering the modern Internet.

Harvey covered networking, Internet infrastructure and dot-com mania in the late 90s for Silicon Valley magazines like UPSIDE and Red Herring before joining Light Reading (for the first time) in late 2000.

After moving to the Republic of Texas, Harvey spent eight years as a contributing tech writer for D CEO magazine, producing columns about tech advances in everything from supercomputing to cellphone recycling.

Harvey is an avid photographer and camera collector – if you accept that compulsive shopping and "collecting" are the same.

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