Last Update – January 2025: In this update, we refreshed all digital access data in the roadmap and updated goals and projects.
Having access to the internet doesn’t mean much without having a device that can use the internet, and vice-versa. In conjunction with our efforts to expand connectivity access, we’re working with community partners to provide residents with the devices they need to get online and maximize their connection.
South Bend’s Current State:
Today in South Bend, 91% of households have at least one computing device. While this rate seems high and has grown significantly in recent years, it represents over 3,600 households who don’t have a device that can access the internet.
Furthermore, many families in South Bend that do have computing devices rely exclusively on mobile computing devices like smartphones. Only 70% of households have a desktop or laptop computer, which are much more effective for a variety of tasks, especially those for school or work, than a phone or tablet. Between 2020 and 2022, most of the increase in device ownership has been concentrated in mobile device ownership rather than desktops or laptops. This means that we have important room to grow as we increase device access in South Bend.
Like broadband access, device access is particularly limited in South Bend’s west side, which is disproportionately Black, Hispanic, and low-income. In one west side neighborhood, 43.7% of households have no computing device. Explore the map below to see how rates of device access vary across South Bend.
To move towards digital equity in South Bend, we must work to provide these households with the devices necessary to access the digital resources and opportunities of the modern world, paying particular attention to those areas which see the greatest need.
Device Access Goals:
Most recent updates: March 2023
- Work to ensure 90% of households have a computing device by 2025.
- Update: As of data from 2022, we have reached this goal! We are continuing to build on our progress to increase the rate of overall device ownership, especially laptops and desktops.
- Reach at least 50% participation in the Affordable Connectivity Program, which offers $100 device discounts to eligible residents, by the end of 2023.
- Update: when the Affordable Connectivity Program ended in early 2024, Education Superhighway reported that South Bend saw a 45% uptake rate. Though not at the level of our 50% goal, this is a substantial increase from the City’s 29% uptake rate in late 2022.
- Maintain our 2 existing CLICK sites for public device access and add 3 CLICK sites by 2025.
- Update: In 2024, the City and the St. Joe County Public Library began a strategic process to renew the CLICK program. See updates below.
- Expand partnerships to distribute laptop or desktop computers to residents by the end of 2023.
- Update: We have partnered with La Casa de Amistad and SJCPL to distribute devices to residents. See updates below.
What we’re doing now:
To reach these goals, we are engaged in projects and committing to actions listed below. Please refer to this page often for updates as our efforts progress and we launch new initiatives.
Promoting the Affordable Connectivity Program
- Until the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) – a federal assistance program offering $30/month discounts on broadband and a $100 device discount – ended in 2024, the City led the Creating Connections Outreach Program to increase ACP uptake in our community.
- Through Creating Connections, which was supported by nearly $500,000 in grant funding from the FCC, a team of navigators helped residents through each step of the signup process. Over the grant period, ACP uptake went from 29% to 45%.
- Though ACP has ended, we are still working to promote low-cost device access for South Bend residents.
Offering Public Devices at CLICK Sites
- Since 2018, the City has partnered with ChoiceLight and the St. Joe County Library to provide publicly accessible computers, printers, scanners, and high-speed internet in community centers in South Bend.
- These Centers for Learning, Information, Connectivity, and Knowledge (CLICK) provide devices for residents who otherwise might be unconnected.
- In 2024, the City and SJCPL began a collaborative process to renew the CLICK program, including the establishment of a site at the new Dream Center and re-imagining the existing Charles Black site to better serve residents.
Partnering with our Library to Encourage Device Use
- Like many communities, our library is an essential resource for unconnected residents. Each branch of our St. Joe County Library offers no cost high-speed internet, computers, printers and scanners, and other devices for resident use.
- The St. Joe County Library is a founding member, along with the City, of the South Bend Connectivity Coalition. As members of this coalition, we will continue to partner with the library on strategic connectivity initiatives and encourage residents to use its resources.
Exploring Device Distribution Programs
- In conversations around South Bend, community organizations have discussed the potential value of putting devices in the hands of residents to directly address device access. Moreover, these devices could be distributed as an incentive for completing digital skills trainings, addressing how these areas of the digital divide are interconnected.
- In 2023, we supported a new partnership with the St. Joe County Public Library and La Casa de Amistad to distribute refurbished desktop computer stations to residents who complete a digital skills training course. With support from Comcast, this partnership has grown to support over 50 participants across 3, 12-week cohorts.
- The City is continuing to explore models for long-term accessible device distribution, and is making these models a focus of Digital Equity Act funding applications.