JISARA

Abstract: Along with the technological advancement and infiltration of Internet-based devices into our daily lives, Digital Divide research domain has evolved to focus on social development issues. Purdue researchers have developed the Digital Divide Index to measure digital access and use gaps for U.S. counties. Digital Divide Index goes beyond the access gap to focus on identifying communities disconnected from social ties and economic opportunities of the 21st century. However, the Digital Divide Index currently is calculated only at the county level. We have developed the Florida Digital Divide Index at the Zip Code level. We collected relevant datasets from the Census Bureau and the Ookla speed test. We applied Random Forest modeling to the index scores and gathered data variables to identify top importance features. The findings from the machine learning model were used to develop interactive dashboards to explore Florida zip codes with digital divide index scores.

Download this article: JISARA - V19 N1 Page 64.pdf

Recommended Citation: Vemuri, T., Umapathy, K., (2026). Developing Florida Digital Divide Index: A Comprehensive Analysis of Internet Accessibility and Socio-economic Characteristics. Journal of Information Systems Applied Research and Analytics 19(1) pp 64-79. https://doi.org/10.62273/SXIC6488