Solving the digital divide in the US has gained a lot of attention in the past year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced much of the country to work and study from home as a way to contain the spread of the virus. But the pandemic also underscored the need for accurate broadband data maps because, without accurate data, it s nearly impossible to determine where the country lacks competitive services.
The FCC s Technological Advisory Council Working Group on Artificial Intelligence (WGAI) may provide some solutions to this dilemma. A white paper the group submitted in January details how the WGAI believes AI can help the FCC in a number of ways, and included specifics on how AI could help close the digital divide. The group called AI a game changer for the industry and recommended the FCC create a task force on AI and also conduct a request for information (RFI) in this area to determine more specific examples of how AI can be used for broadband mapping.