New Data Shows Poor, Black Communities Are Stuck With Bad Internet Deals

New research has found that Black and brown people in poorer neighborhoods are being given unfair internet deals. 

The data, which was gathered by The Markup, a non-profit that focuses on technological ethics, analyzed over 800,000 internet service offers from AT&T, Verizon, Earthlink, and CenturyLink across 38 cities in the U.S. between April 15th and October 1st, 2022. What they discovered was a grim reality, though not one that is a surprise: neighborhoods with lower median incomes in nine out of 10 cities were given the worst deals. The four providers gave the worst deals to the least white areas in two-thirds of the cities.

The Markup also found that the internet providers gave overpriced and often slow internet service to areas that were “redlined” by the government in the 1930s. Though outlawed in 1968, Black communities were considered too risky to invest in, thus being “redlined” or denied basic upkeep and resources. Sadly, it appears major internet companies are still using those same practices. 

“The providers offered fast base speeds at or above 200 Mbps in some neighborhoods for the same price as connections below 25 Mbps in others,” the Associated Press wrote. In other words, many people of color are forced to pay costly bills for internet service that is not in line with the latest speed advancements. 

Major cities such as Los Angeles, Cleveland, Dayton, Detroit, and Toledo have been affected by this trend in neighborhoods that are either predominantly poor, predominantly minority, or both. AT&T has pushed back at the data, denying any wrongdoing. 

Unfortunately, these findings demonstrate that, as with many other facets of American society, people of color are falling behind in the current era of technology with no remedy in sight.