IMPACT TO DATE

Since #OaklandUndivided’s inception in 2020, our diverse coalition has mobilized to bridge the digital divide.

GOAL #1

Cradle to Career Student Connectivity: Scale and sustain home digital access from cradle to career for Oakland’s 50,000+ public school students.

>$30M

#OU secures public and philanthropic funding to provide computers and home internet to Oakland’s pre-K to 12th grade public school students who lack home digital access. To date, this includes:

+50,000 computers
+20,000 home internet connections
+20,000 culturally-responsive tech support request responses

#OU partners with Oakland public schools to institutionalize a home digital needs assessment into annual back to school registration. This means Oakland’s schools collect 40,000 Tech Check Surveys every year, empowering schools to respond to any unmet need and keep students connected.

UNIVERSAL

TECH CHECK

See School & College Partners

GOAL #2

Community-Wide Connectivity: Connect 90% of Oakland’s 37,000 disconnected households to reliable, high-speed internet by 2027.

2020

City Council invests $7.7M of CARES Act funding to launch OakWifi and the TownLink program to provide free public Wi-Fi and digital literacy to residents across Oakland

2021

Oakland is selected for the State’s historic $3.25B investment in open access, backbone broadband infrastructure in Oakland’s most unconnected neighborhoods—West Oakland, Fruitvale, and East Oakland.

Oakland unanimously passes Internet Choice Ordinance, ensuring competitive access in Oakland’s multi-dwelling units

#OU partners with BlocPower to complete a Citywide Broadband Feasibility Study to evaluate approaches and technologies to increase access to reliable, high-speed internet in our highest need communities.

2022

Oakland is awarded a $500k state grant to design an expansive fiber optic network, streamline deployment, and enable public-private partnerships to provide free or low-cost internet.

Oakland is recognized as a National Digital Inclusion Alliance Trailblazing City.

2023

#OU’s Affordable Connectivity Plan Enrollment Campaign nearly doubles enrollment citywide in the $30/month federal benefit, making internet free or lower cost in high poverty communities. These efforts result in an ~800K/month savings for Oaklanders.

Oakland Housing Authority announces the launch of free high-speed internet for all residents at the four largest public housing communities in Oakland for the next 5 years.

#OU conducts one of the nation’s largest internet performance study collecting nearly half a million speed tests at thousands of locations in Oakland, providing definitive evidence of disparate impact.