Using records and data provided to the FCC, the NDIA designed several maps that show where AT&T’s highest and lowest Internet speeds are offered. As AT&T developed its technology and rolled out improved services, neighborhoods like Hough, Glenville, Central and Fairfax — where the poverty rate runs higher than elsewhere in the city — were excluded. When, last year, the company offered a $5/month deal to its low-income customers, the NDIA found out that, actually, many of AT&T’s customers in Cleveland don’t even have fast enough Internet access to qualify.
Here’s a brief history: 10 years ago, state lawmakers eliminated the municipal franchising of cable television providers. The theory is that this would foster greater competition, and that the market would work in customers’ favor. AT&T promised advanced services — the thing that would eventually come to be known as U-Verse.
Between 2008 and 2013, according to NDIA, AT&T outfitted Cleveland with optical fiber extensions and VRAD cabinets. The problem is that not all of Cleveland or Cuyahoga County is served equally by this infrastructure (despite a state provision that prohibits cable companies from excluding customers based on income or race). Homes with access to Internet download speeds of 18 mbps or more are found in the outlying areas of the county (see below), and most of Cleveland is left with significantly slower access. This discrepancy hampers any number of quality-of-life issues relating to employment opportunities, homework, job training and state bureaucratic activities. The “digital divide” is a real thing.
AT&T has moved on to different types of Internet access technology, and by all accounts is no longer deploying that sort of U-Verse “Fiber To The Node” infrastructure, meaning that there are no improvements in sight for Cleveland’s poorest neighborhoods. The areas that were not built out with fiber infrastructure will be unable to join a future theoretical 5G data system.
“The national context of this is that AT&T basically gave up on this deployment and changed its business model,” Bill Callahan, research and policy coordinator at NDIA, tells Scene. “There’s nothing random about this. The decision to [build out fiber infrastructure] in some wire centers and not others is a deliberate planning decision. This has nothing to do with customer demand; they had no idea what the customer demand was going to be when they did this. It’s a decision built on the characteristics of the neighborhoods. In general, I would say that means poverty.”
(Update) A spokesperson from AT&T responded to Scene: “Access to the internet is essential, which is why we’ve continuously invested in expanding service and enhancing speeds. The report does not accurately reflect the investment we’ve made in bringing faster internet to urban and rural areas across the U.S. While we are investing in broadband, we’re also investing in technologies that will mitigate some of the infrastructure limitations”
This article appears in Mar 8-14, 2017.
Not surprising. I lived near Shaker Square in 2010 (and near west side since) and tried to get AT&T. They installed it and the service was awful. TV and internet froze consistently. I just gave up. The lack of competition for cable/internet services in the city is a joke.
So, at&t basically responded with “mrrph blvvvr lrrrrrrg,” to borrow a phrase from The Intercept. Their PR flak offered absolutely no substantive response to any of the points made by this study.
This is liberal race-baiting nonsense. Companies don’t invest in areas where there equipment is going to get destroyed and they aren’t going to have subscribers or make money. That’s why there are few brick and mortar businesses in those areas. Besides that point, they can easily get cell phones with 4G internet and many of the people in those areas probably have them.
Click through and read the report, Mr. Wilson and people upvoting him.
“the new law also prohibited economic or racial discrimination: ‘[N]o video service provider shall deny access to video service to any group of potential residential subscribers in its video service area because of the race or income of the residents in the local area in which the group resides.’
This is, actually, Ohio law.
Looking at the map, there are nicer areas within Cleveland that still have slower internet from AT&T. Areas where homes are maintained and minimal risk of equipment being stolen. The lack of any alternatives in the city, for residential internet, is terrible. AT&T or Time Warner ….. the end.
AT&T is the biggest pos company that I’ve ever had the displeasure of dealing with. Go ahead and try to terminate their services and they continue to bill you for months afterwards, only to turn you over to a multitude of bill collectors that you have to battle for years to settle with, once and for all. F#ck AT&T
This actually explains a lot with the half assed service and the rude responses from their customer service staff. and I do pay full price.
Sure. Invest billion where no one can pay for the service.
So a business only sets up shop in a place where it can make money, wow who’d have thought it.
Why should any company invest money in the heart of the ghetto knowing that they will never get paid for their product. I think they’re lucky AT&T offers any service. If it were up to me they should pull out of the hood.
Doesn’t take much to bring out the real in people. I like the assumption that these neighborhoods are full of thieves and bill dodgers. There is a diverse mix of low income blue collar and middle income white collar who happen to believe that where we live is worth the investment. We deserve quality Internet at affordable prices. A**hats.
Duck
All of you have no idea what your talking about so long there good service people will pay for it especially internet because this is because the companies are greedy and find excuse not to up grade the existing system main city have the same problem I support samimalways
MUK – Since when you liberals care about following laws (immigration)?
If someone can prove they broke a law, go for it. Otherwise, it’s business as usual.
SamImAlways – The great thing is that assumption is being made by Scene.
George Forbes will be remembered as arguably the most polarizing and powerful Cleveland city council president in history. But one thing is certain — AT&T would not have been permitted to build a digital redlining wall under his watch.
Couldn’t this same article be essentially written about every company that does business in Ohio? I mean, I could take those exact same maps, cross “AT&T” out of the title and put in anyone. Go ahead, you try it. “TGI Friday’s” “Best Buy”, whatever. You invest where your customers are at and where they are going. Is the next article going to be about residents of South Russell being discriminated against in the same-day loan market? Probably not, because Pay Day Advance doesn’t think there’s a market for their 34% loans. Not only is it more expensive for AT&T (and others) to build out hard-line infrastructure in these red neighborhoods, we’re talking about places where the city’s are getting federal money to TEAR DOWN HOUSES! It’s certainly not a race issue. I guess it’s a poverty issue, but only in the fact that the company doesn’t see a market for premium broadband services in poverty-striken neighborhoods. And just because they were blackmailed into offering some $5/month deal doesn’t mean they’re going to be excited about spending billions to build it out. Get a 4G hotspot. Yes you pay for data, but you’re on-par with the price of wired services in the ‘burbs.
The opinion expressed above is one I think I’d apply generally to just about every private company. Specific to AT&T: they are one of the shittiest companies I’ve ever dealt with, and they can disappear any time and we’d all be better off. Incompetent support, incompetent techs, and just a general disorganization on a massive, corporate-wide scale. Just awful in so many ways.
So if companies, not just AT&T, can’t make money in poor and often brown or black neighborhoods across America, what are they to do? Just suffer with shitty circumstances because no one will try to seriously improve their lives and services? Your zip code shouldn’t determine that your life will be hell.