The debate over California’s telecommunication future is here, specifically the transition from analog (landline) telephones to digital technologies and systems.

Close to 3 million California households are losing access to free or discounted broadband internet due to the recent expiration of the White House’s Affordable Connectivity Program.

There has been a public challenge to the fact that AT&T is retiring its copper landlines in the state of California. This issue, however, is much bigger than the state of California and AT&T. It is not only national but global as well. In the US alone, there are estimates from 35 million to 100 million landlines still in operation (depending on how you count them), about 14 million of which are business lines.

In Fresno County, there is a growing need for education, health care, and access to government services, especially in our rural areas. High-speed broadband can address these pressing issues, providing opportunities such as distance learning, telehealth and access to state and local government notifications, emergency alerts and websites.

In his 2019 inaugural address entitled “A California for All,” Governor Newsom said, “we face a gulf between the rich and everyone else — and it’s not just inequality of wealth, it’s inequality of opportunity.” For too long the digital divide has been one glaring inequality of opportunity for far too many communities.

About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household without a landline at the end of last year — a figure that has tripled since 2010.

A new report from the National Skills Coalition used data from 43 million online job postings to assess digital skills demand. The findings reveal that the vast majority of jobs now require some type of digital skills.

Providers like AT&T want to shut down their older copper networks so they can focus on fiber and 5G, which offer higher speeds and are cheaper to operate. This move will help telecom companies save money by running on a more efficient network. Consumers, meanwhile, stand to benefit from better access to faster internet service, with the increased fiber infrastructure also potentially helping with 5G cellular coverage.

If someone told me, a couple of weeks prior, that I would be taking pictures of everything that crossed my path, I would have laughed in their face. But there I was, sitting on the sidewalk, looking to capture the perfect shot that would allow me to learn a little more about the world I am a part of: the expression of the guide dog who is always by my side; the bustle of a busy street full of buildings, cars, and signs; the box of desserts I just bought, wondering whether it looked appetizing enough to bring to a family dinner.