Efforts to close the digital divide gained momentum in Massachusetts over the past year. The state completed its first digital equity plan, and more than 80 cities and towns launched their own municipal digital equity planning efforts. With several sources of implementation funding available, these plans aren’t going to sit on the shelves for long. Resources to make the internet available to residents of affordable housing present an especially promising opportunity.

Massachusetts has more than 160,000 units of income-restricted housing. According to a study published last fall by MassINC and the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, these properties disproportionately house residents who lack high-speed internet. Often this is because they do not have wiring to the unit, or the wiring is outdated, degrading service quality. However, many residents of affordable housing go without home internet service because even the lowest cost plans are too expensive for them.

The Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI), a unit of the quasi-public Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, is finding creative approaches to help communities address these problems.

MBI’s new residential retrofit program brings internet service providers and property owners together to build state-of-the-art, fiber-to-the-unit networks in affordable housing developments. The Healey-Driscoll administration has committed $22 million to the residential retrofit program from the state’s federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. At an estimated cost of $1,000 per unit, these resources should be sufficient to wire 22,000 units. In just the first month, more than 50 property owners representing over 17,000 affordable housing units expressed interest. If more property owners step up for their residents and requests exceed the funding allotted, Massachusetts has other federal dollars for broadband infrastructure that it can provide.

The apartment Wi-Fi program is another example of the Broadband Institute’s novel efforts to close the digital divide in affordable housing. In many multifamily residential buildings, particularly those with wood framing, free public Wi-Fi may be the most efficient way to increase internet access. The apartment Wi-Fi program covers the full cost of installing these networks.

Demonstration projects have shown that free Wi-Fi dramatically increases internet use in affordable housing. However, some property owners have been reluctant to install these networks because their operating budgets are already strained, and internet service at the bandwidth required for a large building costs several thousand dollars each year.

Whether we install fiber to the unit or public Wi-Fi, identifying sustainable state funds to help property owners cover the modest cost of free internet for residents will help maximize return on this infrastructure investment. But increasing internet access in affordable housing will require more than just money. Massachusetts must build the workforce to install the networking equipment. (As this overlaps with efforts to decarbonize the electric grid and building stock, the state can link fiber job training up with the ambitious job training programs taking shape in the clean energy sector).

Quickly deploying infrastructure funds to meet aggressive federal timelines will also require changes to state procurement laws, so that public housing authorities can design networks, purchase and install the necessary equipment, and provide internet service with one seamless contracting process. Provisions in economic development legislation filed by Gov. Maura Healey this month proactively address this need.

When the COVID-19 pandemic revealed glaring inequities in our society, we pledged to do our part to create more equitable access to opportunity. Massachusetts has made progress closing the digital divide since 2020, but the Commonwealth still has considerable work to do to make sure that poverty is no longer a wall to the internet. The success of efforts to secure reliable high-speed internet for residents of affordable housing will be a true test of our resolve.

Jay Ash, a former secretary of housing and economic development, is president and CEO of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership.