From Access to Ownership: The Next Phase of Digital Equity
Joshua Edmonds
For more than a decade, the digital equity conversation has centered on access.
Do households have internet?
Do students have devices?
Are there hotspots in public spaces?
Is broadband available at an affordable price?
Those questions matter. They were necessary. They still are.
But they are no longer enough.
Access is the entry point.
Ownership is the strategy.
And cities that fail to understand the difference will modernize without building wealth.
Phase One: Closing the Access Gap
The first phase of digital equity was about closing the obvious divide.
Communities that lacked:
Reliable broadband
Affordable service
Devices for students
Public Wi-Fi access points
Basic digital literacy training
were locked out of education, healthcare access, workforce participation, and civic engagement.
Public policy responded. Federal infrastructure funds expanded broadband. Municipalities distributed devices. Nonprofits launched training programs.
This work was critical.
But access is participation in someone else’s system.
Ownership is participation in the upside.
The Quiet Question No One Is Asking
Who owns the fiber beneath the streets?
Who owns the data centers storing municipal information?
Who holds the contracts for cloud migration, cybersecurity, and smart-city systems?
Who profits from the modernization of urban infrastructure?
When cities deploy new broadband networks or smart technologies, billions of dollars move through capital stacks, procurement pipelines, and long-term service agreements.
If local communities only receive service—but not equity—they remain consumers in a system they do not control.
That is not digital equity.
That is digital dependency.
Modernization Is an Asset Class
Cities are being forced to modernize.
Legacy systems are aging.
AI is changing operational requirements.
Cybersecurity risks are escalating.
Residents expect digital efficiency.
Modernization is not optional.
But modernization is also an investment cycle.
Broadband expansion, fiber builds, smart grid upgrades, public cloud migrations, data integration platforms—these are not just upgrades. They are infrastructure investments.
Infrastructure investments create:
Long-term revenue streams
Service contracts
Recurring subscription models
Bond issuances
Tax incentive structures
Public-private partnerships
The question is whether communities participate in the capital stack—or only in the service layer.
Moving From Users to Stakeholders
The next phase of digital equity must move beyond:
Device distribution
Subsidized service
Public Wi-Fi zones
Digital literacy workshops
Those remain foundational.
But the strategic shift requires:
Minority ownership in broadband buildouts
Local firm participation in fiber deployment contracts
Equity stakes in data center developments
Community investment vehicles tied to infrastructure projects
Workforce pipelines aligned to digital engineering and cybersecurity contracts
Digital equity cannot stop at connectivity.
It must extend into capital positioning.
Capital Stacking in the Digital Era
Infrastructure ownership does not happen by accident. It requires intentional capital architecture.
Cities and communities have tools available:
Municipal bonds
Opportunity Zones
New Markets Tax Credits
Public-private development agreements
Cooperative ownership models
Community investment funds
When these tools are structured with digital infrastructure in mind, communities can move from being recipients of service to participants in long-term asset creation.
The shift is subtle but powerful.
Access answers: “Can we log on?”
Ownership answers: “Do we benefit when the system scales?”
Why This Matters Now
Artificial intelligence, data analytics, and digital platforms are not peripheral technologies. They are becoming the operating layer of cities.
Transportation systems.
Energy grids.
Public safety.
Healthcare networks.
Economic development strategy.
The digital spine of a city increasingly determines its economic resilience.
If communities are absent from the structuring table when these systems are financed and deployed, they will again find themselves downstream from the upside.
And by the time the economic impact becomes visible, the ownership structures will already be locked in.
The Strategic Reframe
Digital equity must evolve from a social conversation to a structural one.
Not just:
“How do we make sure everyone is connected?”
But:
“How do we make sure communities build equity in the systems that connect them?”
The difference is profound.
Access reduces exclusion.
Ownership builds power.
Access closes a gap.
Ownership creates leverage.
The Next Phase
The next phase of digital equity will not be driven solely by philanthropy or device donations.
It will be driven by:
Policy alignment
Procurement strategy
Capital design
Local firm development
Collective investment models
Cities that understand this shift will modernize in ways that build both efficiency and equity.
Cities that do not will digitize their infrastructure while widening their ownership gap.
The future is not just connected.
It is structured.
And the communities that learn to structure their participation in the digital asset economy will not just log on to the future.
They will own part of it.
About the Author
Joshua Edmonds writes about technology, infrastructure, and economic positioning at the intersection of modernization and equity. His work examines how cities adapt to structural change—and who benefits when they do.