Digital Impact Group is a nonprofit organization with the primary mission of bridging the City’s vast digital divide. Over the past two years, we have developed an innovative program to help low-wealth families gain access to critical technology resources.

An Entire City Connected

Digital Impact Group works in partnership with established community-based organizations - our Partners in Digital Inclusion (PDI’s) - to provide a comprehensive “TechPack” that now includes a new, ultra-portable laptop computer, high-speed Internet service, literacy-appropriate training, local technical support, and targeted content to low-wealth households throughout the City. Participants earn this service package by meeting benchmarks established by our PDI’s.

An independent program evaluation conducted by the OMG Center for Collaborative Learning yielded a highly-favorable, in-depth report highlighting the program’s efficiency and future promise, as well as areas for further development. With this guidance, we are currently implementing four intensive pilot projects, and we will design future growth based on the outcomes we measure.

An Ambitious Vision

Digital Impact Group's long-term vision is for Philadelphia - now among the least connected cities nationwide - to become the nation's most connected city. Our focus on developing programs to connect all of our citizens to the Internet is leading the way toward universal digital inclusion through creative collaboration with small business, large corporations, community organizations and the public sector.

As a result of Philadelphia's bold leadership on this issue, low-wealth families across the city are gaining access to computers and broadband service, enabling them to take advantage of opportunities that before were closed to them. Philadelphia stands alone among major cities in the development of a collaborative, comprehensive, community-based strategy to provide low-wealth families the tools they need to connect to the internet. As Philadelphia becomes a more connected city, we will begin to know the answer to the question that animates all of our efforts: What will life be like for all of us when all of us are connected?

Philadelphia’s Wi-Fi Network

On June 17, 2008, ownership of Philadelphia’s Wi-Fi network was transferred from EarthLink to a local company with a strong networking and telecommunications background. The new company is linking the wireless network with wired assets to create a unique, hybridized network capable of providing low-cost, commercial-grade network solutions. The wireless service is now free to anyone who can access it, and already over 125,000 unique users are logging on each month. While the DIG’s programmatic and financial realities were completely altered with the transfer of Philadelphia’s Wi-Fi network in June of 2008, with more than half of Philadelphia's households still lacking the technology necessary for full access to employment, education, health and other life opportunities, DIG remains utterly steadfast in its core mission of digital inclusion.