Citizen Portal
Sign In

Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!

Committee urges ISPs and city agencies to expand affordable Internet access for seniors and people with disabilities

Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors · March 16, 2023
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The committee unanimously recommended a resolution urging AT&T, Verizon and Comcast to increase affordable, accessible Internet access and for the city to expand outreach and the fiber‑to‑housing program; ISPs emphasized ACP participation and outreach, while advocates pressed for broader local eligibility and language‑competent supports.

The Government Audit and Oversight Committee on March 16 recommended to the full Board a resolution calling on major Internet service providers and city departments to expand affordable Internet access for seniors, people with disabilities and other low‑income San Franciscans.

Supervisor Dean Preston, sponsor of the resolution, said San Francisco faces large gaps in home broadband: "1 in 8 residents of our city are without high speed, home internet service," and the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) remains underused locally — only about a quarter of an estimated 126,000 eligible households are enrolled, he said. The resolution asks ISPs to increase outreach, reduce barriers, target investments in underserved neighborhoods and work with the city on digital equity efforts.

Senior and Disability Action (SDA) presenters described barriers to access including low ACP enrollment,…

Already have an account? Log in

Subscribe to keep reading

Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.

  • Unlimited articles
  • AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
  • Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
  • Follow topics and more locations
  • 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
30-day money-back on paid plans