2024 Louisiana Digital Opportunity Plan
This plan outlines Louisiana's first coordinated effort to assess the state's digital divide and expand digital opportunity in Louisiana. Access to digital resources is a significant concern in today’s world, particularly in Louisiana. This report has examined the status of access to digital resources within the state. While the state has made significant strides in recent years to close digital gaps, it continues to face numerous challenges. Lower average rates of access to broadband, devices and digital skills proficiency affect the covered populations in this report as compared to others.
Addressing the digital divide is crucial for the socio-economic development, educational attainment and overall well-being of Louisiana’s citizens. Expanding broadband infrastructure, improving affordability and promoting digital literacy are key priorities for the state.
LA Digital Opportunity Plan 2024
What is Digital Opportunity?
There are four components to achieving digital opportunity: internet, devices, applications and digital skills. These components are the centerpiece of Louisiana's Digital Opportunity Plan. ConnectLA is working to make digital opportunity a reality in Louisiana. From broadband expansion to digital literacy trainings to job creation, our digital opportunity plan seeks to close the gap in access that exists in this state and make Louisiana a model of workforce engagement for the rest of the country.
According to EducationSuperHighway, Louisiana currently ranks first in the country in number of households enrolled in the federal government's Affordable Connectivity Program per capita. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance's Digital Opportunity Index also ranks Louisiana sixth in the country in how well our state government and local governments are addressing digital opportunity.
ConnectLA has developed a plan that outlines Louisiana’s first coordinated effort to assess the state’s digital divide and move the state toward digital opportunity. The plan focuses on more than just how we can provide faster internet. It lays out strategies for how to make internet affordable and accessible and how to equip residents with the skills needed to fully participate in today’s digital world.
Success Stories
Digital Opportunity Resources
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Louisiana Digital Opportunity Map
The Louisiana Digital Opportunity Map, powered by Microsoft, assists state agencies in identifying areas with the largest gaps in service. Using index value, this tool can give policymakers the ability to direct funding and investments to those in the communities most affected by the digital divide. Through the Airband Initiative, Microsoft seeks to "make affordable broadband access a reality for unserved and underserved communities around the world."
NTIA Internet For All: Workforce Planning Guide
The NTIA Workforce Planning Guide is a resource for eligible states and providers that are developing their submissions for the federal government's Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and may also be applicable as providers and states develop their digital equity plans and workforce plans.
Seizing the Moment: Scaling Up Broadband Strategies
The goal of “Seizing the Moment” is to help state leaders develop effective plans to scale up their fixed broadband strategies to meet the current moment. It seeks to provide a roadmap for building up state broadband strategies by framing key planning choices, highlighting practical tradeoffs and timing questions and identifying crosscutting issues.
NDIA State Digital Opportunity Plan Toolkit
The Digital Equity Act was a once-in-a-generation initiative to design systems that will enable true digital opportunity. The federal government outlined specific items for states to include in their digital opportunity plans; however, they did not provide guidance on how to compile and organize these plans. This NDIA State Digital Equity Plan Toolkit provides this guidance.
2022 Broadband Solutions Summit - Stakeholder Engagement
As we discover new ways to get others involved in the broadband process, we want to highlight an important discussion from our Broadband Solutions Summit in August.
In the panel, Lauren Chauvin, executive director of the Louisiana Internet and Television Association, leads a discussion on how providers, residents and government officials can work together to create more engagement throughout the broadband deployment process.
2022 Louisiana Broadband Solutions Summit - Digital Opportunity Launch
Rick Gallot, president of Grambling University, Dr. Susannah Craig, deputy commissioner for strategic planning and student success at the Louisiana Board of Regents, Dr. Anna Osland of the Blanco Public Policy Center and Mia Ruffin of the Capital Region Planning Commission joined us for this panel from our Broadband Solutions Summit in August. They discussed the nearly $1 million Louisiana is receiving to create a digital opportunity plan and how education and government are working together to research how best to disperse these funds