David Elliot Berman

The network dialectic: the digital divide and the contradictions of Philadelphia's digital equity strategy This study examines the political economy, discursive legitimations, and effectiveness of the primary U.S. policy response to narrowing the digital divide: public subsidies for internet service. Us...

Looks awesome @ppopiel.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Important new research into the contradictions of US broadband policy by two leading political economists.

ABSTRACT This study examines the political economy, discursive legitimations, and effectiveness of the primary U.S. policy response to narrowing the digital divide: public subsidies for internet service. Using Philadelphia as our case study, we analyze municipal efforts to enroll low-income communities in low-cost commercial broadband plans supported by the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Like many other U.S. cities in the neoliberal era, Philadelphia sought to organize its digital equity initiative as a decentralized network of public agencies, commercial broadband providers, and nonprofits. Drawing on expert interviews, focus groups with ACP-eligible subscribers, and policy documents, we find that despite the city’s goal of achieving universal service, the networked initiative ultimately advanced the economic interests and market position of Comcast, the city’s monopoly broadband provider – with only minimal gains in connectivity. We argue that the evolving relationship between Comcast and the city of Philadelphia exemplifies what we refer to as the dialectic of the network. While often assumed as opposing forms of economic and social organization, the monopoly – centralized, vertically organized, hierarchical – and the network – decentralized, horizontal, leaderless – actively reinforce and legitimize one another as part of the neoliberal conquest of America’s communication infrastructure.

🚨 New article out, great colab w/ @davidberman.bsky.social, assessing the primary U.S. response to the digital divide: the corporate subsidy. Using mixed methods, we show how networked "digital equity" reinforces network monopoly. @miccenter.bsky.social
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/2BPFG...

Lived Broadband Policy: Experiencing the Affordable Connectivity Program Quantitative data gleaned from surveys and other sources can illuminate how connectivity initiatives perform

New piece from me and @davidberman.bsky.social, previewing our research on the rollout, implementation, and experience of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) before and after its end
www.benton.org/blog/lived-b...

the same administration screaming at universities about “merit” is also elevating unqualified hacks to critical positions, which makes you wonder about what they mean by “merit”

Screenshot from blog post that reads: Nor, especially, can they be addressed by American researchers moving abroad. When someone suggests that researchers just move abroad, I smile wanly, because I know that whoever is suggesting it has no idea of the scale of U.S. higher education relative to other markets nor of the difficulties other countries are facing. (What, just move to the many financially secure institutions of the United Kingdom? If you don’t keep up with UK higher ed news, then you may not recognize that’s a darkly bitter joke.) Some folks will find moving abroad attractive but it is simply not possible for the 1.4 million U.S. post-secondary instructors to just move to Canada.

If you won't believe me, here's Paul

musgrave.substack.com/p/at-the-coa...

Thrilled that my article “On Optimization: Cultural Labor in Platform Capitalism” has just been published in New Media & Society. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

so sorry to hear this Andrew! I can buy you beers if you're in NY!

The Digital Divide in Comcast Town First post from Philadelphia Equitable Broadband project

New piece out with @davidberman.bsky.social giving a preview of our study of post-pandemic efforts to address the digital divide in Philadelphia, especially Comcast's central role in it

www.benton.org/content/digi...

Penn State professors partner on digital equity grant to benefit Philadelphia | Penn State University Two Penn State faculty members recognized for their expertise in broadband and digital access helped shape an effort that secured a five-year, $11.9 million grant that will benefit residents of the ci...

So proud of the big things happening at our Pennsylvania Broadband Research (PBR) Institute!

@christopherali.bsky.social @saschameinrath.bsky.social @davidberman.bsky.social @victorpickard.bsky.social @abbysimmerman.bsky.social +Aaron Hyzen @mic-center.bsky.social @bellisariograded.bsky.social