Changes in Mobile Broadband Infrastructure in Rural Georgia During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 brought the challenge of unequal access to center stage. This paper investigates if the crisis translated into a disruption of mobile broadband infrastructure, taking Georgia as a case study. We hypothesize that the pandemic outbreak could have slowed down ongoing infrastructure provision initiatives, as in other segments of the economy, or spurred them, by bringing renewed attention and resources to the digital divide. We borrow data from Skyhook – a location services company – to identify changes in visible infrastructure between March 2019 and September 2020. Then, we combine this data with sociodemographic data from the American Community Survey to identify the groups affected by any changes. We find that the mobile broadband scene in Georgia has evolved at a slower yet linear pace, especially in rural and micropolitan areas. Further, expansion in the post-pandemic was concentrated in areas with higher proportions of racial minorities and households without any type of broadband subscription.