Technology commission approves FY 26 budget recommendations to address digital equity

The Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission unanimously approved three recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, based on a digital needs assessment, to address digital equity in Austin including funding for affordable devices, expanded public internet access and increased digital skills training for underserved residents.

City staff presented findings from the city of Austin and Travis County’s collaborative Digital Equity Needs Assessment that found some populations – including lower-income households, older adults, individuals with disabilities and nonnative English speakers – face significant barriers to obtaining digital devices, achieving digital literacy and accessing consistent internet for essential services.

“Cost and affordability was the top issue across conversations with survey respondents,” said Reyda Taylor, a Travis County strategic adviser, describing findings from the assessment that surveyed nearly 1,400 residents. “Digital skills was also a top issue that came up over and over. Everything from folks not being able to or wanting to know more about how to navigate certain types of devices, certain types of websites, certain types of tools to help them use digital technology. … We also heard a lot about internet service problems.”

“While this report is a large milestone, I don’t think that this is the end of of the process by any means,” said Jesse Rodriguez, program manager for Austin’s community technology unit. “It’s the intent of the city to use this report and the information in the report to refresh the 2014 digital inclusion strategic plan.” 

The technology commission’s FY 26 budget recommendations were informed by the digital needs assessment.

“Some items were sourced from specific recommendations in the assessment,” said chair Steven Apodaca.

The commission recommended allocating a minimum of $25,000 in FY 26 budget funds to create an affordable device distribution and repair program for underserved communities, partnering with local nonprofits, libraries and organizations to close the digital divide.

“We heard in the community a lot of times that people have devices, but they are broken, or they have malware that they can’t get rid of, or they’ve lost the charging cable and the battery’s dead,” Rodriguez said. “We want to increase access to technology support or device repair options. … It could be as simple as ‘fix it’ clinics.” 

The commission recommended that City Council allocate funding in the FY 26 budget to expand public internet access across the city, including extended hours at access points, enhanced public computer labs with features like webcams and charging stations and resilient connectivity at emergency response locations to ensure equitable access for all residents.

“I think ubiquitous coverage is useful. I think targeted coverage to support some of these harder-hit areas is perhaps more important,” Commissioner Suzanne Heritage said, noting that respondents to the digital needs assessment cited transit barriers to accessing the internet. “Expanding public internet access should be aligned with community need as defined by digital divide index and other relevant data sources.”

The commission also recommended $450,000 in additional funding to expand free digital skills training for residents facing barriers to digital literacy after 59 percent of survey respondents, particularly those without home internet access, said they are interested in free digital skills training. 

“I’m also interested in how we can reach the communities who face the greatest barriers to digital literacy and how we can service them,” said Commissioner Ibiye Anga. 

“We must provide digital skills training in diverse ways, that meet different learning styles, context and schedules,” Rodriguez said. “Different things will work for different people, and it’s incumbent upon anybody that’s interested in facilitating digital skills training to make sure that it’s diversified and that there are different options available for different folks.” 

Photo by Mikerussell – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link.

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