Technology Opportunities Program Research Articles

Bridging the Digital Divide: An empirical analysis of public programs to increase broadband adoption

The COVID pandemic has rekindled the strong interest in broadband adoption, with the U.S. Congress recently setting aside $65 billion to shrink the availability and adoption gaps. But America has spent billions trying to close the Digital Divide in the past, yet adoption disparities along many dimensions persist. In this article, we offer an empirical analysis of past broadband adoption programs by quantifying the effect of several programs established by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009. Applying a Difference-in-Differences model to Census data on adoption, we find no positive effect on home broadband adoption from programs funded by the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (“BTOP”).

Effects of Intergenerational Relationship and Support on mHealth App Adoption Among Older Adults

As a growing body of literature examining the effects of mHealth for older adults’ diabetes self-management, how relational factors affect seniors adopting mHealth is still unclear. Guided by the transactional approach of intergenerational relations and the technology acceptance model, this study aims at investigating the perceived ease-of-use, perceived usefulness, and intention-to-use of a mHealth app among older adults with Type-2 diabetes in relation to familial (parent-child) relationship and to e-learning support from child/ren or from external youth volunteering tutors. Using data from the Intergenerational Mobile Technology Opportunities Program (IMTOP), 304 Taiwanese participants (an average age of 64.6 years, 43% female, and 62.5% received at least a high school degree) who had at least a child were included for analysis using structural equation modeling. Results showed that perceived ease-of-use (β = .58, p < .001) and perceived usefulness (β = .27, p < .001) are significant predictors of intention-to-use. Positive associations are found only between external intergenerational, but not familial, e-learning support and perceived ease-of-use (β = .45, p < .001) and perceived usefulness (β = .42, p < .001). Parent-child relationship is positively associated with both familial (β = .73, p < .001) and external intergenerational support for e-learning (β = .36, p < .001), as well as directly (β = .12, p = .030) and indirectly related to intention-to-use. Our findings suggest the importance of intergenerational relationship and appreciation of both familial and external support to facilitate and sustain older adults’ adoption for mHealth programs.

Broadband technology opportunities program public computer center grants and residential broadband adoption

The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program's Public Computer Center (BTOP PCC) grants were awarded to public libraries to increase broadband access for the public. Libraries funded by the BTOP PCC grants improved computers and broadband facilities and offered training programs to help library patrons acquire computer and Internet skills. This study uses data on the BTOP PCC grants and public library surveys to examine the question of whether residential broadband adoption rates increase in counties whose libraries have received the grants and aggressively increased the number of Internet-connected computers available for public use between June 2009 and December 2014. However, there were no significant increases in the adoption rates in those counties. This result suggests that spillover effects outside libraries funded by the grants are not present.

Using Reverse Auctions to Stretch Broadband Subsidy Dollars: Lessons from the Recovery Act of 2009

Twelve years ago, the federal government awarded hundreds of grants for broadband infrastructure with stimulus funds from the Recovery Act of 2009. In this study, I review the subsidy allocations from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and compare actual outcomes with those that a reverse auction or random lottery may have yielded. My analysis shows that a reverse auction might have connected nearly twice as many buildings for the same total subsidy dollars relative to the results from the grant review process. Moreover, the grant review process used by the NTIA did only slightly better in subsidy-dollars-per-building-connected than a random lottery probably would have. Lessons from the Recovery Act are drawn from public data on proposed and awarded projects from application files for stimulus funds. I conclude that the government likely overpaid for broadband by using grant review rather than a reverse auction. The analysis strongly implies that future broadband grants be distributed using market-based methods to get better returns on investment from infrastructure funds.

Bridging the Digital Divide: What Has Not Worked But What Just Might

America has spent billions trying to close the Digital Divide, but adoption disparities along many dimensions persist. The COVID pandemic has rekindled the strong interest in broadband adoption, with many in Congress now proposing to spend billions more to shrink the adoption gap. In this POLICY PAPER, we first offer an economic analysis of how best to spend broadband subsidies. As might be expected, the analysis prescribes that money should be spent where it is most effective (per dollar) at increasing adoption. Second, we offer an empirical analysis of past broadband adoption programs by quantifying the effect of several programs established by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009. Applying a Difference-in-Differences model to Census data on adoption, we find no positive effect on home broadband adoption from programs funded by the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (“BTOP”). Third, we discuss the potential benefits of direct subscriber subsidies considering the successful private sector programs offering low-cost broadband plans to low-income and other qualifying households. Direct subsidies to end-users will increase adoption, but surveys and empirical evidence prescribe sober expectations on their effectiveness at achieving universal adoption. Subsidizing broadband infrastructure deployment in unserved areas is a direct approach to increase broadband adoption, but even so the costs in some regions may outweigh the benefits.

Broadband adoption in urban and suburban California: information-based outreach programs ineffective at closing the digital divide

Purpose The digital divide has persisted in California and the USA as a whole at approximately the same level for the past decade. This is despite multiple programs being created and billions of dollars being spent to close it. This paper examines why the efforts to date have been ineffective and to offers policy alternatives that might be more successful. Design/methodology/approach Using data from three, variable constrained projects in California, this paper examines the effectiveness of information-based outreach efforts at closing the digital divide. The projects tested various outreach and enrollment methods to see which, if any, could increase broadband adoption in low-income households. Findings This project found that providing low-income households’ information about low-cost broadband offerings was ineffective at closing the digital divide. The findings in this paper were similar to those of two other works that examined the federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Practical implications The findings of this paper along with the works cited that evaluated the BTOP program should be enough to change public policy. For the past ten years, efforts to close the digital divide have focused on providing information to low-income households. However, two independent surveys show broadband adoption has remained virtually flat during that period. Social implications The digital divide brings concomitant economic and education harms and challenges that plague those unable to access information, services, educational and employment opportunities with the same ease, speed and sufficiency as their connected peers and neighbors. Those harms exacerbate the already existing education and income divides. This paper shows that without a change in strategy, those harms will persist. Originality/value This paper breaks new ground and addresses one of the weaknesses identified in existing research. To the best of author’s knowledge, this is the first paper of its type to use programs designed to generate data that can be empirically evaluated for effectiveness. Prior studies attempted to assess program effectiveness by using data generated from fully implemented government programs. However, those programs contained a vast number of unidentified variables and insufficient data collection. They were not designed to facilitate academic evaluation, and as such made a true effectiveness evaluation challenging.

157 Diabetes Self-Management Training with a Mobile APP among Older Adults in Taiwan: Comparative and Longitudinal Program Effectiveness

Abstract Diabetes is a prevalent chronic disease and a major medical disability worldwide. It affects 1 in 5 older people in Taiwan. Use of mobile computing technology has become increasingly prevalent among older adults but its potential to improve diabetes self-management and social integration is only begun to be realized. This presentation will introduce the Intergenerational Mobile Technology Opportunities Program (IMTOP) designed to motivate and train older adults with diabetes to use mobile technology for diabetes self-management. The IMTOP curriculum taught participants about diabetes self-management combined with tablet and Internet skill training. Patients were taught a diabetes self-management app to activate self-monitoring and behavior change. College students participated as volunteer tutors to provide intergenerational and technological support. The program was delivered in 8 weekly sessions of 2-hour long small group classes. To understand the program effects, a wait-list control trial with 350 age 55+ adults with diabetes was conducted in 2 Taiwanese hospital outpatient settings. Patients were assessed at baseline and every 4 months for up to 12 months post intervention. After participating in the intervention, the pre-post changes for the intervention group were significantly better than the waitlist group at 4-month in terms of physical health status, diabetes self-care, use of mobile technology, and overall quality of life. In addition, the intervention group was less depressed compared to its counterpart. The longitudinal effects were evaluated using linear mixed-effects models including contrasts compared mean estimates at each follow-up to the baseline. The results indicate a stable overtime improvement in overall diabetes self-care (p&amp;lt;.0001). Specifically, patients reported more blood-glucose testing, foot-care, and risk reduction (all with p&amp;lt;.0001), specific diet (p=.04), and reduced frequency of smoking (p=.03). Both the WHO-QOL physical health (p=.03) and self-rated general health (p=.001) were enhanced. The findings support the effectiveness of IMTOP intervention for older adults with diabetes.

Health Awareness, Attitudes, and Behaviors Among Young-Adult Tutors in the Intergenerational Mobile Technology Opportunities Program in Taiwan

Objective: Health-risk behaviors (e.g., inadequate dietary choices, physical inactivity) predispose young adults to a greater risk for diabetes. This study examines young-adult tutors’ experience in a nonfamilial intergenerational program with older diabetic adults and the tutors’ perceptions of program benefits relative to promoting their own healthy behavior. Method: Using a qualitative purposive sampling method, we recruited 146 college students to participate as technology support tutors in an 8-week Intergenerational Mobile Technology Opportunity Program (IMTOP) for older adults with type 2 diabetes. Results: Tutors reported knowledge gains in understanding the association between behavior in early life and later-life health consequences when older diabetic patients shared their stories and experiences with chronic disease. Tutors also described using gained knowledge for self-care, such as addressing sedentary lifestyles, making good dietary choices, and better managing weight. Conclusions: Intergenerational programs may promote healthy development for young adults by encouraging behavioral modifications that reduce risks of developing diabetes and other conditions that jeopardize health.

Common Sense: An Examination of Three Los Angeles Community WiFi Projects that Privileged Public Funding Over Commons-Based Infrastructure Management

Public funding for community WiFi initiatives in the United States is rare—despite that these networks are comparatively low-cost to deploy, and that a peer-to-peer model of connectivity may foster community and boost civic engagement. However, in 2015 the New York City Economic Development Corporation awarded the Red Hook Initiative several million dollars to expand its community WiFi network in Brooklyn. This development suggests a potential shift in attitude toward government support for grassroots WiFi networks. Therefore, it is critical to understand the successes and failures of projects that previously operated with government grants and subsidies. Using both a public goods framework and theory of the commons, this study examines three community WiFi networks in geographically and ethnically diverse L.A. communities subsidized by the city of Los Angeles or by California state agencies. Specifically, this research examines whether Little Tokyo Unplugged, Open Mar Vista and a cluster of network sponsored by Manchester Community Technologies relinquished the ability to function as commons by accepting, or simply pursuing, grants and resources from public agencies. Each of these initiatives faltered, despite a combined $700,000 in government funding. The analysis is based on interviews with 11 key stakeholders, as well as a comprehensive review of relevant grant reports, archived website pages and media coverage. In exchange for government subsidies, these three community WiFi projects prioritized public good goals articulated by policymakers—closing the digital divide in Los Angeles through infrastructure deployment and encouraging computer usage. In order to fulfill promises made to granting agencies, these community WiFi networks treated wireless internet access as a commodity, rather than as a tool for community empowerment. Significantly, none of the networks developed a strategy to remain sustainable after public subsidies expired, or after government agencies rejected requests for additional funding. Had these three L.A.-based community WiFi projects privileged a commons-based approach, characterized by inclusivity and a flat governance structure, they may have thrived. In a commons, communication systems are truly democratic, in the sense that community members themselves determine how the network is designed and deployed. Neither corporations nor policymakers get to influence those decisions. The study concludes that, ultimately, money and resources provided by government agencies are inadequate substitutes for volunteers who traditionally share skills and passion to sustain community WiFi networks. However, the findings recognize that it is certainly possible for grassroots initiatives to partner with government agencies, while continuing to manage infrastructure as a commons. In 2010, the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition allocated a portion of its $1.8 million grant from the federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program to launch community wireless networks in several neighborhoods. A guiding principle of this project, which continues to expand, is to enable community members to create their own technologies and to help shape communications infrastructure. The research stresses that both policymakers and community broadband groups must agree to balance potentially competing goals.

The Power of Knowing the Rules

This article presents a case study of the Louisiana Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP). An initial consideration would portray the events described herein as a policy implementation failure, but the investigation revealed something more profound. Extensive interviews and investigation of official documents, including transcripts of meetings, revealed the ambiguity of failure and the invisibility of power in administrative contexts. Hendrik Wagenaar’s argument that administrative action is underlined by an administrator’s deep understanding of the rules is used here to show the important relationship between the visible aspects of legible rules and the invisible dimension of using the rules. The Louisiana BTOP grant highlights the important tension between closure through administrative rationality and the resistance to such closure through channels of contestation.

Fiduciary responsibilities to whom? federal grant recipients' perceptions of the public interest

This article explores the implementation of infrastructure development projects funded by the Recovery Act’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) in a southeastern state to provide high-quality Internet connectivity in un- or under-served areas to alleviate the conditions contributing to rural areas’ fiscal crises. This context affords a unique opportunity to view fiscal federalism’s operational dynamics in times of economic crisis and explore how various grant administrators in charge of similar federally funded public works projects define fiduciary responsibility. We find that these administrators comprehend “fiduciary responsibility“ narrowly in terms of complying with the accounting and reporting requirements of the federal grant. However, they have a broader and more nuanced understanding of their overall responsibility that includes working on behalf of their respective communities’ interests to meet local and regional needs.

Transition from grant funding to a self-supporting burn telemedicine program in the western United States

BackgroundMany Americans have limited access to specialty burn care, and telemedicine has been proposed as a means to address this disparity. However, many telemedicine programs have been founded on grant support and then fail once the grant support expires. Our objective was to demonstrate that a burn telemedicine program can be financially viable. MethodsThis retrospective review from 2005 to 2014 evaluated burn telemedicine visits and financial reimbursement during and after a Technology Opportunities Program grant to a regional burn center. ResultsIn 2005, we had 12 telemedicine visits, which increased to 458 in 2014. In terms of how this compares to in-person clinic visits, we saw a consistent increase in telemedicine visits as a percentage of total clinic visits from .26% in 2005 to 14% in 2014. Median telemedicine reimbursement has been equivalent to in-person visits. ConclusionsSpecialty telemedicine programs can successfully transition from grant-funded enterprises to self-sustaining. The availability of telemedicine services allows access to specialty expertise in a large and sparsely populated region without imposing an undue financial burden.

Evaluating the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s BTOP on broadband adoption

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) spent $4.7 billion during 2009–2013 to, inter alia, increase broadband adoption in underserved communities. We characterize the BTOP grants and examine the impact of the awards on broadband adoption. Econometric specifications controlling for award endogeneity related to observed and unobserved county-level factors find that spending is apparently associated with increased broadband adoption. Further investigation, however, reveals that the impacts of spending are nonlinear and even nonmonotonic over the range of county-level BTOP spending in the data. Controlling for trends to reduce the potential for spurious correlation between spending and outcomes removes most of the significance of the results. We conclude with three lessons for policymakers derived from the uncertain outcomes of BTOP spending found in our exploration.

Evaluating the Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's BTOP Program on Broadband Adoption

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) spent $4.7 billion during 2009–2013 to, inter alia, increase broadband adoption in underserved communities. We characterize the BTOP grants and examine the impact of the awards on broadband adoption. Econometric specifications controlling for award endogeneity related to observed and unobserved county-level factors find that spending is apparently associated with increased broadband adoption. Further investigation, however, reveals that the impacts of spending are nonlinear and even nonmonotonic over the range of county-level BTOP spending in the data. Controlling for trends to reduce the potential for spurious correlation between spending and outcomes removes most of the significance of the results. We conclude with three lessons for policymakers derived from the uncertain outcomes of BTOP spending found in our exploration.

Local Economic Impacts of Investments in Community Technology Centers: An Empirical Investigation

The objective of this study is to analyze the local economic impact of investments in community technology centers (CTSs). More broadly, it asks the question whether investments in CTCs are primarily motivated by considerations of equity and social justice, or whether there is an economic rationale that can justify such investments.The community technology center movement has a long pedigree, both in the United States and abroad. Historically, their motivation was to extend information and communication technology (ICT) access and training services to communities and individuals deprived of such services because of low socioeconomic status or lack of digital literacy. In effect, they were seen as universal service programs for those who could not afford household ICT access. However, CTCs also provided a host of services that might have economic consequences: digital literacy training, small business services, job training, etc. These services may cumulatively be expected to have effects on local economic growth, through encouraging small business entrepreneurship, lowering unemployment and enhancing local labor skills. Identifying the magnitude of these economic consequences, if any, is critical to ensuring continuing public support to CTCs.The relationship between telecommunications and economic growth has been long recognized in the economics literature, ever since Jipp’s pioneering work found a positive correlation between telephone density in a country and per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By substituting for other production inputs and reducing transaction costs, telecommunications contributes to economic growth. Growth in turn makes more investment capital available for telecommunications development and also contributes to demand by increasing household income. However, establishing a connection between CTC investments and economic growth is harder, and has not been explicitly addressed in the literature. Analysis of the economic consequences of investments in CTCs is also complicated by lack of quality data as well as methodological issues. Data availability is a major concern, since no centralized database of CTC investments exists — most CTCs are run by a wide variety of entities including municipalities and city governments, charitable foundations, industry and trade groups, and public libraries. To solve this problem, we use data on CTCs from two sources that provide information on subsets of all CTCs: data for CTCs attached to public libraries are available from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS); and data from the National Broadband Map (NBM) for Public Computing Centers (PCCs) funded through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The IMLS data tracks individual libraries and PCCs and logs the types of services available at each location, including digital literacy courses and general education assistance. The NMB data includes the periodic reports to the NTIA from recipients of PCC grants about the number of new and improved PCCs, the number of new and upgraded workstations available to the public, hours of operation, average connection speed, primary uses of the PCCs, average users per day, and training provided with BTOP funds. We supplement this with information on broadband availability from the National Broadband Map; and socioeconomic and demographic information from the U.S. Bureau of the Census such as poverty level, average income, average household size of the region, and geographic data such as population and the ratio of the population living in rural areas.In terms of method, models for the economic consequences of ICT and broadband deployment need to account for the simultaneity bias and spurious correlation. The incremental economic effect of CTCs needs to be isolated from that of the availability of broadband and ICTs in the wider community; it needs to rule out reverse causality, namely the tendency of wealthier communities to invest more in all public infrastructures including CTCs; and it needs to control for trends in the overall national and regional economies. Our paper utilizes an econometric model that addresses these methodological issues using appropriate controls and instrumental variables. The outcome of this research will provide inputs into the relative merits of the investments of scarce public resources into CTCs or other public infrastructure investments. It has significant implications for public policies aiming at universal broadband access through middle mile institutions, as well as for the creation of community resources and local development.

The Training Difference: How Formal Training on the Internet Impacts New Users

This paper will address a question that is relevant to stakeholders in the public and private sectors: Have investments in programs to encourage broadband adoption paid off? After five years of attention to the issue (dating to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s investments in the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and the release of the National Broadband Plan), the question remains relevant in light of ongoing gaps in home broadband adoption in the United States.The paper will address this question in two ways:1) A review of research and "best practice" that has arisen in the past several years that has sought to explore broadband adoption programs.2) Through analysis of a unique longitudinal dataset that interviews new Internet users first within three months of getting home Internet service and a second time eight months later after they have acquired some experience with home Internet service. The data: For analysis, the paper uses data gathered in a telephone survey of customers of an entry-level broadband Internet service of a major national Internet service provider (ISP). More than 700 respondents were interviewed eight months apart (January 2014 and September 2014). The survey asked respondents’ a number of questions about online activities (e.g., whether they have looked for a job online) and attitudes about Internet use (e.g., its impact on social ties, educational opportunities, etc.). The survey also asked respondents to assess their levels of comfort with computers and the Internet, as well as whether they had formal training on how to use the Internet (through, for example, a local library or a community center). Analysis: The longitudinal design allows statistical analysis to be conducted that compares results for respondents between Time 1 and Time 2, while controlling for baseline levels of digital skills and other demographic factors. Questions the paper will explore include:• Are changes in self-reported digital skills attributable to whether the respondent had formal training on the Internet?• Does the incidence of doing online job searches vary with having had Internet training, controlling for baseline levels of digital skills and/or changes in digital skills over time?• How large are any impacts from formal Internet training on behavior and attitudes?The unique contribution of this paper is its use of longitudinal data. To the author’s knowledge, prior research has not interviewed the same set of broadband users comparing behavior early on in their adoption curve with responses at a second time. The ability to assess the impacts of formal Internet training is also unique. Given investments in the public and private sectors to close broadband adoption gaps, the research speaks to stakeholders’ interest in understanding programs aimed at encouraging home broadband adoption. With the Federal Communications Commission beginning the process of adapting the Lifeline program (currently supporting telephone service) to broadband, the research results should be timely for that proceeding.

The Effect of Poverty on the Propensity to Adopt Broadband: Household-Level Evidence from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program

The authors focus on the lack-of-access component of the digital divide. Against a backdrop of federal policy that entwines poverty with broadband access, the authors use original statewide data to test a two-step model, drawn from the New Poverty Studies, of barriers to household-level broadband adoption. The authors generate a measure of the propensity to adopt broadband and test the relative role of poverty in the household decision-making process. The authors conclude by noting the continuing relevance of access as a component of the digital divide and providing support for the continuation of assistance efforts to close the household broadband access gap.

A study of the patients' requirement for the telemedicine

APAN medical WG made the great success of involving the close-to-real medical activities over the high speed circuits. The reason of their success was that their activities were driven by the medical doctors. At the project Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) [1] in USA, both the doctors and the patients are involved in the telemedicine infrastructure implementation. For such reasons, it is important to survey what kind of services in the telemedicine the patients are requesting. One of the easiest ways to survey this issue is to look at the AppStore. The top charts are built by the AppStore staff with checking the number of downloads, the evaluation of the customers and some other items. This paper is trying to get the idea of the requirement of the patients for the telemedicine with checking the top charts of the AppStore of “medical”.

Public broadband investment priorities in the United States: an analysis of the broadband technology opportunities program

In 2009, U.S. Congress approved $7.2billion to accelerate the deployment of advanced broadband networks and services to unserved and underserved regions of the country. Although primarily a short-term response to the economic crisis, the appropriation also indicates a willingness to seek a new balance between private sector and public sector initiatives in the development of the nation's broadband infrastructure. This paper is a first step in assessing the potential impact of the new government initiatives. It discusses in detail one component of the overall program, the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The rationales and objectives of BTOP and its initial implementation are explored. Based on information in the BTOP database, 265 awards were examined to document award types, target communities, applications, technology, and access speeds. Whereas it is too early to assess the initiatives' effects on employment and other important social and economic objectives, it is appropriate to consider whether the awards made under the BTOP program advance a national broadband development agenda. Overall, they appear to. However, the present analysis found that projects focusing on minority populations may have received less emphasis in the BTOP awards than that announced in the stated goals of the program.

From the Digital Divide to Digital Inclusion and Beyond: Update on Telecentres and Community Technology Centers (CTCs)

The establishment and growth of Community Technology Centers (CTCs) reflects the development in the U.S. of universally recognized key institutions in combating what was originally known as the Divide. Internationally referred to as Telecentres, their explosive growth in the U.S. — from a handful at the beginning of the 1990's to more than 20,000 in the database supported by the Network early in the new millennium — was originally supported by a range of corporate, philanthropic, and governmental programs on multiple levels. Although the special funding for Public Computer Centers or PCCs in the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, or BTOP, federal stimulus program testifies to the recognition of their continuing strategic role in effective broadband dispersal and use, ongoing support has dwindled, CTC/PCC identity and mission have become less focused, and schools and libraries have pretty much taken center stage as the sole key institutions in the fight for inclusion. To the degree that conceptual unclarities and confusions and lack of a compelling framework as well as the absence of defining and clarifying examples contribute to policies that overlook their ongoing potential contribution, this presentation provides a contribution to the effort to reintegrate CTCs and build continuing support for PCCs as collaborators and partners with schools and libraries in a common critical divide/digital framework.Proposed for presentation at the 2013 TPRC 41st Research Conference on Communication, Information and Internet Policy this September via a joint presentation, this draft paper incorporates a framework suggested by David Nemer in his Literature Review on Inclusion and Divide, one in which the conception of digital inclusion came, for many, to replace the limitations and misconceptions in the idea of the “digital divide” and encompass a new second of research and practice, only in the end to suffer from distortions and inadequacies of its own. This paper looks at five recent contributions to the field that go beyond these limitations and provide examples of critical inclusion, what can be seen as a of research and practice involving telecentres and CTCs, one that illustrates the transformative, liberating, radical democratic, community-building dimensions and character of both the institutions and the research itself.The review begins with a critical summary of the complementary analyses and surveys that combine for a global overview — editor Ricardo Gomez's Libraries, Telecentres, Cybercafes and Public Access to ICT: International Comparisons (2012) and Panayiota Tsatsou’s Digital Divides in Europe — Culture, Politics and the Western-Southern Divide (2011). Then summary profiles of exemplary case studies involving three CTCs illustrate some of the heroic features of the third wave in stories of democratic education, development, and transformation: the Native American Palas Learning Center in San Diego County in southern California, the Homeless Women’s Technology Education Project at the Troy-Cohoes YWCA in upstate New York, and the CTC at Harrison Plaza Public Housing in North Philadelphia — as found in Christian Sandvig’s “Connection at Ewiiaapaayp Mountain: Indigenous Internet Infrastructure” (2012); Virginia Eubanks’ Digital Dead End: Fighting for Social Justice in the Information Age (2011); and Melissa Gilbert and Michele Masucci’s ICT Geographies: Strategies for Bridging the Divide (2011). The review takes note of the freely-available accessibility of these works, examines the pedagogical role of its authors as well as the stories and accounts of their community technology projects, and ends with a summary characterization of a critical perspective on research and practice involving CTCs and their distinctive contribution to their common work with schools and libraries in the U.S., all along with cybercafes globally.