Community Technologist Urges Grassroots Action to Address Digital Exclusion

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 that teach people how to use existing tools. He stated, "We don't need another press release about broadband expansion plans. We need people on the ground showing others how to use the tools we already have. It's local, it's urgent, and it's everyone's job."

In a recent interview, Pranzo detailed the hidden costs of digital exclusion observed through his work in Baltimore. These include small business owners unable to access affordable automation tools and families excluded from city services due to a lack of basic digital literacy. "When a resident can't apply for a housing program because the form is online, that's not a tech failure—it's a systems failure," he explained. Data underscores the scale of the issue: 35% of households in underserved Baltimore neighborhoods lack reliable internet access according to the Baltimore Civic Tech Survey, 2024, 43% of adults in low-income U.S. households do not have home broadband per Pew Research Center, 2023, and over 30 million Americans lack basic digital skills like creating a spreadsheet, as reported by the National Skills Coalition in 2022.

Pranzo emphasized that these gaps have broad societal impacts, affecting city budgets, workforce pipelines, and healthcare systems. While his company builds advanced technological solutions for clients, he stresses that addressing the divide often involves low-tech interventions. "Sometimes the most important thing you can do is help someone sign up for email or show them how to use a shared document. That's how change starts," he noted. In 2024, Pranzo helped launch a citywide digital skills accelerator that trained 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, asserting, "We can't build smart cities if we leave whole communities 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 concluded, "Innovation isn't about building for the top 1% of users. It's about making sure the bottom 30% can still participate." This call to action highlights the need for a grassroots approach to ensure digital inclusion and equity in communities often left behind by technological advancement.