Microsoft’s new tool gives you a street-by-street view of digital inequality in the USA

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Published onJuly 14, 2022

published onJuly 14, 2022

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Microsofthas a new toolto give you a street-by-street view of digital inequality in the USA. Built on PowerBi, the tool looks at 20 different indicators of digital equity and tells a story of access to the internet and other digital technologies.

Available here,Microsoft’s tool was developed by their Chief Data Science Officer Juan Lavista Ferres and the Microsoft AI for Good Lab. The tool pulls data from public places. That includes the Census Bureau, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), BroadbandNow, and Microsoft’s own Broadband Usage Data. Also in consideration with the tool are factors like broadband access, usage, education, and poverty rates.

The goal of this tool is to give policy makers the tools they need to find trends and places in states that need investments in digital resources like broadband internet. As an example, Microsoft points out that in Ferry County, Washington, 97% of the county aren’t using the internet at broadband speeds. That goes against the FCC’s own data that claims only 0.4% of households lack access to broadband. Even in Los Angeles, more than a quarter of residents aren’t using the internet at broadband speeds, according to Microsoft’s data.

Check it out now, and you might end up surprised as to which percentage of the population doesn’t have access to proper digital resources in your neighborhood.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).

For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.

Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.

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Radu Tyrsina

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Microsoft’s new tool gives you a street-by-street view of digital inequality in the USA