Digital  News

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.”

It hasn’t been six months yet, but in some ways, it feels like this was always my path. Leading SA Digital Connects, a private-public-community partnership that aims to close San Antonio’s and Bexar County’s’ digital divide, is complex and challenging, but also rewarding.

“We know that successfully closing the digital divide in Bexar County involves more than simply access. We need adoption,” BiblioTech director Laura Cole said. “We need people to feel safe, secure and competent when working in the online space.”
Laura Cole- SA Digital Connects Board Chair.