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The tribal digital divide: extent and explanations

Author

Listed:
  • Anahid Bauer

    (UIUC - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [Urbana] - University of Illinois System)

  • Donn. Feir

    (UVIC - University of Victoria [Canada], CICD - Center for Indian Country Development, Institute for the Study of Labor IZA)

  • Matthew Gregg

    (CICD - Center for Indian Country Development)

Abstract

This paper documents home Internet access, types of Internet access, connection speeds, and prices for basic home Internet in tribal areas of the United States. We find that the share of households with Internet access is 21 percentage points lower in tribal areas than in neighboring non-tribal areas. When compared to these non-tribal areas, download speeds, whether measured using fixed or mobile broadband networks, are approximately 75% slower in tribal areas, while the lowest price for basic Internet services in tribal areas is 11% higher. Regression techniques reveal that traditional cost factors such as terrain and population density fully explain the price gap but account for only a fraction of the tribal differences in Internet access and connection speeds. Income differences are strong predictors of Internet access but do not affect connection speeds. A sizable amount of the variation in the access and home connection gap between tribal and non-tribal is left unexplained. We conclude with a discussion of how federal broadband programs have penetrated Indian Country, how tribal-specific factors are related to the variation in Internet access within Indian Country, and the potential policy implications of our findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Anahid Bauer & Donn. Feir & Matthew Gregg, 2022. "The tribal digital divide: extent and explanations," Post-Print hal-03867121, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03867121
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2022.102401
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    Cited by:

    1. Darrah Blackwater & Ilia Murtazashvili & Martin B. H. Weiss, 2024. "Polycentric systems for spectrum management: the case of Indigenous and tribal spectrum sovereignty," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 465-491, June.
    2. Pender, John & Goldstein, Joshua & Mahoney-Nair, Devika & Charankevich, Hanna, 2023. "Three USDA Rural Broadband Programs: Areas and Populations Served," Economic Information Bulletin 340565, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Alex Chernoff & Gabriela Galassi, 2023. "Digitalization: Labour Markets," Discussion Papers 2023-16, Bank of Canada.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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