“What’s really cool about classes you’re doing with Code Equity is that Microsoft Word and Excel, those are all softwares that were developed by coding,” Pape told the group of students eager to accept the laptops. “It’s an amazing skill to take with you through middle school, high school and to college.”

SA Digital Connects partnered with Code Equity to distribute the laptops on Monday.

For a few years we have been one to the nations largest urban areas and communities that has had a digital divide, and our work in collaboration with AT&T, the city and the county for the past few years has been to really close that divide. This is just one of many opportunities to do that.

Public-private endeavors involving the city and Bexar County aim to help roughly 35,000 homes get connected. Two pacts with Internet providers would extend infrastructure before Affordable Connectivity Program funding ends.

According to Pape, infrastructure is only one part of getting people online. She thinks about three A’s: access, adoption and affordability.
Infrastructure provides access, but people often need a device to connect, and they need to be able to pay for the service.
Adoption, she said, involves helping community members obtain “access to the devices that are relevant to their needs” and ensuring that they have “the digital skills … to use those devices.”

It’s been awhile since we shared an update on what’s happening with Google Fiber in San Antonio. We’ve been hard at work upgrading our network to provide the best customer experience possible and to make sure we meet the evolving needs of our customers.
Access is just one piece of digital inclusion. In our efforts to further digital equity initiatives in the city, we are working with a number of committed community organizations, including:
San Antonio Digital Connects dedicated to increasing access to quality internet and digital skills

“The impactful work by Methodist Healthcare Ministries across San Antonio and Bexar County, continues to demonstrate their commitment to addressing the many challenges of the digital divide,” says Rhia Pape, Executive Director at SA Digital Connects. “We are proud to be supported and funded by MHM and other private sector partners and are thankful SA Digital Connects gets to work with such amazing partners to implement the SA/Greater Bexar County Investment Plan. There are many layers to this work and it’s only with coordination and collaboration between organizations that we will see success in closing the digital divide in our community.”