Collier resident works toward digital equity

For anyone with a tendency to take internet connectivity for granted, consider what happened in certain circumstances when covid-19 forced education into a virtual environment.

“During the pandemic, you were hearing stories about how kids couldn’t do their homework and how that had to go to McDonald’s to get online,” Collier resident Alka Patel said. “We realized, that’s not acceptable in this day and age. And so we looked at community centers across the country and outfitted them with free internet.”

She is vice president of government and external affairs for Comcast Corp.’s multistate Keystone Region, and the media company responded to the situation by establishing wireless “lift zones”: more than 1,250 across the United States, including 37 in Allegheny County.

Patel’s job is to oversee government relations and community investment in parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia, and a major point of emphasis is on striving for digital equity, the ability for everyone to make full use of what has become an essential component of 21st-century life.

Because lack of financial resources often serves as a hindrance, Comcast launched an Internet Essentials program that has provided affordable connectivity to more than 10 million Americans since its 2011 launch.

The need has become more pronounced during the interim, according to Patel, who cited the example of recent developments in the medical field.

“When you think about telemedicine and telehealth, having these individuals get on the internet is so critical, so that they can access this as many of these things go virtual,” she said. “And maybe they have transportation issues, or they can’t get on a bus because they have no child care at home. So being able to do a child health visit is really impactful.”

‘Make sure they have access’

Another factor that hinders large-scale connectivity is geography, with locations far from metropolitan hubs often challenged.

“We’ve been putting our own private capital in terms of expanding into these areas to make sure that they have access,” Patel said. “At the federal and state level, there’s a lot of effort being made in terms of creating programs so that these really hard-to-reach places can have access. We are also very involved in keeping our eye on that and working with the states as they come out with programs.”

On the federal level, Comcast participates in the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides low-income households with subsidies toward sustained internet service.

“Part of the challenge is that people don’t know that there is funding available for select families,” Patel said. “So one of our biggest efforts is creating awareness and outreach.”

In that regard, consider the Federal Communications Commission estimate that as of July, only 13.1 million of the 48 million qualifying Americans eligible for the program had signed up for it.

While connectivity is essential to digital equity, Patel stressed the vital role of users possessing optimal knowledge and skills. In 2021, Comcast announced a $1 billion commitment to reach tens of millions of people over the next decade with its Project UP, which includes a focus on advancing career opportunities and entrepreneurship.

This year, the company awarded grants through a program called RISE — Representation, Investment, Strength and Empowerment — that includes $10,000 for each of 100 businesses in the Pittsburgh area owned by women and people of color, selected from among more than 1,000 applications received.

“We’re really excited about the interest,” Patel said. “It demonstrates the need in this community to support small businesses. We know small businesses are the heart of our communities, so we’re really excited to help these entrepreneurs with these grants.”

‘True Pittsburgher’

A Scott native and Chartiers Valley High School graduate, she earned her bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, and her juris doctorate and master of business administration from Duquesne. She later went to work at Carnegie Mellon, as the first executive director of the university’s Digital Transformation and Innovation Center, sponsored by professional services partnership PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“I hit all three major institutions in Pittsburgh,” Patel said. “So, true Pittsburgher!”

To cement that status further, she was appointed in the summer to the board of directors of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce.

“The chamber will provide a great platform for us to really advocate the need for digital equity and bring awareness of the issue at a regional level,” she said.

Prior to joining Comcast, she was chief of responsible AI for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, as the first person to serve in yet another position.

“I realized, I can’t really continue to talk about emerging tech unless our communities are connected,” Patel said. “And that’s another reason I came to Comcast.”

As for her primary impetus, she wants to help certain segments of the population stand on equal footing after traditionally being subjected to less-than ideal circumstances.

“That’s exactly why I took this job,” she said. “This job allows me to do my part in helping to break that cycle.”