Gregory Pranzo, Founder and CEO of PranzoTech Solutions, is calling for urgent, community-led action to close the digital divide, a problem he says is being overlooked by both the private and public sectors. Pranzo argues that the focus should shift from announcements about broadband expansion to practical, on-the-ground efforts to help people use existing tools. He shared insights from his work in Baltimore, highlighting the hidden costs of digital exclusion, such as small business owners unable to access affordable automation tools and families excluded from city services due to a lack of basic digital literacy.
Data underscores the scale of the issue. According to the Baltimore Civic Tech Survey in 2024, 35% of households in underserved Baltimore neighborhoods lack reliable internet access. The Pew Research Center reported in 2023 that 43% of adults in low-income U.S. households do not have home broadband. Additionally, the National Skills Coalition found in 2022 that more than 30 million Americans lack basic digital skills, like creating a spreadsheet or sending a professional email. Pranzo notes that these gaps impact not only individuals but also city budgets, workforce pipelines, and healthcare systems, making it a systemic challenge.
While Pranzo's company, PranzoTech Solutions, builds advanced tools like dashboards and smart infrastructure, he stresses that solutions aren't always high-tech. Simple actions, such as helping someone sign up for email or use a shared document, can initiate meaningful change. In 2024, he helped launch a citywide digital skills accelerator, training over 300 Baltimore residents in basic tech fluency, many of whom had never used a computer before. He also volunteers with Code B'More, a youth organization teaching coding and robotics in underserved neighborhoods, emphasizing that smart cities cannot be built if entire communities are digitally invisible.
Pranzo urges individuals, businesses, and civic groups to take local ownership of digital access and education. Recommended actions include donating working laptops or tablets to community organizations, hosting or sponsoring free tech literacy workshops in schools or libraries, mentoring someone learning digital skills, advocating for city budgets that support community technology staff, and designing tools and websites with non-experts in mind. He asserts that innovation should focus on inclusivity, ensuring the bottom 30% of users can participate, rather than catering only to the top 1%. This approach highlights the broader implications for economic growth, social equity, and community resilience in an increasingly digital world.
