Executive Summary

Communities of color in the Mississippi Delta are disconnected from the twenty-first century
information economy and the social benefits it brings with it. Broadband in the Mississippi Delta,
shows the link between economic opportunity and broadband access in one of the poorest regions of the country. Mississippi’s rural areas need investment in broadband to grow and thrive. As new federal resources under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program become available this year CSI’s report, Broadband in the Mississippi In the Delta, demonstrates the strategic and social importance of the federal government directing those funds to poorly connected communities in Mississippi, which are often communities of color.

Findings:
• People of color are the majority in zip codes with zero access to high speed Internet.
• Mississippi’s Second Congressional Districts has the largest population of people of color and the lowest levels of broadband access.
• Broadband builds the economy. Therefore, poor communities of color are less able to build their economies or the state and national economy:

o Zip codes with 8 or more Internet providers average 811 businesses. Those without high-speed internet access have a mere 7 businesses on average. Zip codes with 8 or more Internet providers average 13,212 jobs. Job opportunities in places with one, two, or even three Internet providers are a mere fraction of that, with an average of 646 jobs.

• Of the 124 applications for expanding broadband access in Mississippi, 87 were rejected and
37 are still awaiting a decision.

Thankfully, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (“Recovery Act”) allocates $4.7 billion in grants is going to better America’s access to broadband. The National Technology and Information Administration (“NTIA”) will be accepting new applications for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (“BTOP”) between Feb. 16, 2010 and March 15th, 2010.At the same time, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) is in the process of developing a national broadband plan. Under the Recovery Act, this plan must guarantee all Americans access to broadband capability.


Recommendations

To get the most value from our tax dollars:
• Recovery Act funds must be directed toward revitalizing the communities hardest hit by the
recession and pay particular attention to rural and urban communities of color.
• The FCC’s national broadband plan must plan to target rural communities and rural and
urban communities of color.
• Improve transparency regarding broadband availability and ARRA grant decisions.
• Ensure that high-speed Internet is affordable for residents of poor communities of color and
rural communities of all races.