South Bend named 2022 Digital Inclusion Trailblazer

By: Maura Johnson

Posted: Aug 22, 2022 4:05 PM EDT

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The City of South Bend was named a 2022 Digital Inclusion Trailblazer on Monday by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance.

The recognition was given based on the city's leadership in digital equity.

South Bend met all six requirements of being a Trailblazer. The city needed to have the following:

A full-time local government staff
A digital inclusion plan
An open-access coalition
Survey research
Funded digital inclusion programming
Efforts to increase affordability of home broadband service

This is the first time South Bend has received the recognition. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance started acknowledging Trailblazers in 2016.

“To accelerate our cities growth and create more opportunities for all of our residents, we must take bold action to embrace technology and modernize our infrastructure,” said Mayor James Mueller. “We will continue our work to close the digital divide in the city and expand broadband access to residents in our community.”