(Oct. 8, 2025 — Marina, CA) — Closing the digital divide requires a multi-faceted approach: In many rural parts of Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties, the lack of adequate broadband infrastructure keeps residents from fully engaging in the digital landscape. But there are also social and economic barriers standing in the way of digital adoption. For some, it’s a lack of technological devices. For others, monthly internet fees may be beyond what their budgets can allow. And for some — including many seniors who didn’t grow up with smart phones or computers — the biggest obstacle to broadband adoption may simply be an unfamiliarity with digital skills.
Since 2016, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) has been strategically addressing the broadband infrastructure needs of our region’s rural and underserved communities, while also working to support digital literacy and affordability.
This week is Digital Inclusion Week (Oct. 6-10), a weeklong effort dedicated to raising awareness about digital equity and the vital importance of inclusion in our increasingly digital world. As part of its ongoing commitment to advance broadband infrastructure and adoption across the region, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership has recently created the Central Coast Digital Access Coalition, bringing together stakeholders from across the region to collaborate on solutions.
MBEP, working through the Central Coast Digital Access Coalition, is committed to bringing the issue of digital opportunity more clearly into public focus and addressing the gaps that still keep many in our region from fully engaging in the digital landscape.
This week, the Central Coast Digital Access Coalition is launching a regionwide survey of residents in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties to better identify regional needs, so as to help close the gaps between infrastructure and adoption.
“Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) is the leading regional champion for digital opportunity across our region, and we continue to bring stakeholders together to find solutions that move our region forward,” said MBEP President & CEO Tahra Goraya. “Our work is driven by a recognition that reliable and affordable internet service is an essential utility in our increasingly connected society, and bringing our regional needs clearly into focus will advance the goal of ensuring that all can meaningfully participate in the digital economy.”
Digital Inclusion Week (Oct. 6-10) is a nationwide event hosted annually by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA).
Awareness and collaboration are key, and we invite everyone to take the survey, and to share it widely throughout the Monterey Bay region. We also invite you to join in the conversation. So let’s clarify some digital terminology:
What’s the difference between Digital Equity and Digital Inclusion? Here’s a great way to understand the difference, courtesy of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance: Everyone should have access to and be able to use digital technologies, services, and opportunities in a safe, equitable, and meaningful way—this is digital equity. Digital inclusion is the effort to ensure that this becomes a reality for all, no matter their race, gender, age, or socioeconomic status. So digital inclusion is the work that helps communities close the digital divide.
Since 2016, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership has led the charge to make high-speed internet a reality for all. We view broadband as essential infrastructure — vital to economic mobility, education, health equity, and digital inclusion. Through a focused strategy of Infrastructure, access, and awareness, MBEP advanced regional solutions as executive director for the Central Coast Broadband Consortium (CCBC) and founding executive director of the South Salinas Valley Broadband Authority (SSVBA). MBEP has secured over $70 million in broadband infrastructure funding for rural and underserved communities in the Monterey Bay region and prioritized 33,000+ unserved residents in state and federal broadband funding pipelines through strategic advocacy and mapping.
Looking ahead, the Central Coast Digital Access Coalition has outlined multiple goals, including:
- Raising awareness of digital inclusion.
- Uplifting the important work already being done across the region to support digital skills training, digital adoption initiatives, cybersecurity training, and affordability programs.
- Collaborating regionally to share best practices, knowledge, and data.
Get involved! Be a part of closing that gap between infrastructure and adoption in our region: Take the survey here: https://forms.gle/6od5Px6KUYXbkCwf6Learn about our Broadband and Digital Equity initiative on our website or contact Maure Gildea, Associate Director of Economic Development and Digital Access.
About Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP): Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) is a regional member-supported nonprofit organization consisting of public, private, and civic entities located throughout the counties of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz. Founded in 2015, our mission is to improve the economic health and quality of life in the region.