Today we're publishing a new paper, "Affordable, Accessible, and Easy-to-Use: A radically inclusive approach to building a better digital society". This report stems from research we have been conducting exploring the relationship between digital inclusion and health. This research has been part of our Community Connectivity programme and our 3-year partnership with Impact on Urban Health.

In his latest blog, Tom McGrath reflects on the future of digital inclusion policy and shares details of our new event, Reconnecting Britain.

Affording good quality, home internet is rarely included in this discussion, but it is unarguable that a reliable home connection is essential for almost all aspects of life, from socialising to work, shopping to accessing healthcare and other public services.

The summer has been busy for our Community Connectivity project, which is exploring how access to the Internet can improve people’s health outcomes. One of the things we’re exploring in the project is how to make Internet access free or extremely affordable; as part of that we’re working out how to provide community-owned connectivity.

It is now hard to argue that internet access is not an essential part of everyday life. Carrying out the tasks of daily life, enjoying entertainment and socialising without reliable and affordable connectivity is a serious challenge. Yet we know that millions of people either don’t have the internet at home, or are struggling to afford their broadband bills.