San Francisco may be the tech capital of the country, but 1 in 10, or 11.3% of San Francisco residents do not have access to high-speed internet at home.

Cover of San Francisco's Digital Deserts with a photo of Jackson Street in Chinatown with the Bay Bridge in the background.

Read the Report

Read the executive summary in English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean and Spanish. 

For the press release, you can read the English and Chinese

Key Findings

  1. Our internet speed and pricing analysis of 105 addresses across San Francisco found that AT&T, one of the largest internet service providers in the city, charged high-poverty addresses the same amount for slower plans compared to faster plans in low-poverty addresses. This means that higher poverty neighborhoods get less for the same price.
  1. Of the nine broadband internet providers available in the Chinatown community, only one offers high-speed cable and fiber internet is virtually non-existent, meaning residents only have few options for high-speed internet. This lack of choice fuels high prices for Chinatown’s residents.
  1. Almost half of Chinatown households (44%) do not have an internet broadband subscription and for those who do, the internet is slow and unreliable. 


“One of the reasons restaurants stick to cash is because credit card machines are so slow due to poor internet, causing businesses to lose profits.”

Lily Lo, Northeast Community Federal Credit Union and BeChinatown

Resources:

Events: 

What: San Francisco Digital Divide Report Briefing

Date: Thursday, April 4, 2024

Time: 11am-12pm PT

Speakers include:

  • Calvin Yan, San Francisco Supervisor Peskin’s Office
  • Jennifer Chan, Chinatown Community Development Center
  • Anh Nguyen, California Department of Technology Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy
  • Amos Lim, Chinese for Affirmative Action
  • Anisha Hingorani, Chinese for Affirmative Action
Recording for Digital Divide Briefing

Digital Briefing PowerPoint by CAA & PowerPoint by California All

Chinese Briefing PowerPoint by CAA

Photo Credit: Bob Hsiang