Linking Broadband Availability to Perceived Digital Skills: The Moderating Role of Education

Abstract

State and local governments increasingly rely on digital tools to deliver services, communicate with residents, and streamline administrative processes. However, these benefits depend on people actually being able to use online government tools effectively. While subnational governments have focused heavily on expanding broadband access, they have largely overlooked whether citizens can navigate these digital services once available. Our research sheds light on the limits of this approach. Analyzing survey and administrative data, we found that greater broadband availability is associated with lower perceived digital skills among residents, especially those with less formal education. This finding suggests that simply building digital infrastructure may reinforce existing inequalities, challenging the assumption that broadband expansion alone will democratize digital government access. For state and local governments seeking to modernize service delivery and advance digital equity, our findings highlight the need to pair broadband deployment with complementary education-sensitive strategies and targeted digital literacy initiatives.