The Illinois Broadband Lab is a collaborative initiative driven by the University of Illinois System and DCEO’s Illinois Office of Broadband.
Our mission is to advance digital opportunity across Illinois through comprehensive broadband data, mapping, research, and community engagement. Together, we build equitable, inclusive, and sustainable communities across Illinois.
Our Work
- Community Engagement: Turn policy into action via coalition building and regional events.
- Mapping: Make broadband data clear and actionable.
- Dashboards: Create tools to track investment and impact.
- Technical Assistance: Develop resources to train and guide grantees,
- Capacity Building: Equip communities and providers with best practices.
- Research: Support data-driven, equitable broadband strategies.
Our work supports Connect Illinois, one of the largest state broadband matching grant programs in the U.S. We strive for widespread access to reliable, scalable internet across Illinois.
Our Role
We serve as a bridge between policy, practice, and community needs. Broadband policy is complex. It spans federal programs like BEAD, state-level grants like Connect Illinois, and local implementation that varies from one community to the next.
As a result, community organizations and local governments often struggle to navigate dense requirements and shifting timelines. That’s where we come in. We simplify this complexity for regional partners, helping them not just study the digital divide — but actively work to close the gap.
Who We Are
The Illinois Broadband Lab (IBL) is a collaborative effort between the University of Illinois System, DCEO’s Office of Broadband, and a network of state and regional partners. Together, we are committed to closing the digital divide across Illinois.
IBL is housed within the University of Illinois System’s Office of the Vice President for Economic Development and Innovation (OVPEDI). We are also a part of the Illinois Innovation Network (IIN), a system of 15 university-community-industry hubs. These hubs drive inclusive innovation, sustainable economic development, and equitable workforce development throughout the state.
Our Expertise
At our core, we are a research, evaluation, and community-engaged programming organization. More importantly, we bring the technical expertise and convening capacity of Illinois’s flagship university system to the practical, on-the-ground work of digital equity.
Our team includes specialists in broadband data and geospatial analytics. We also have expertise in program design, stakeholder engagement, strategic partnerships, and policy analysis. As part of this work, we conduct original research on broadband access, adoption, and utilization. Then, we use what we learn to inform program design, improve community outcomes, and shape broadband policy at both the state and federal levels.
Our Reach
Over time, IBL has cultivated deep university partnerships and community networks across all 10 of Illinois’s economic development regions. As a result, we maintain direct relationships with local governments, school districts, community-based organizations, libraries, healthcare providers, workforce boards, and the residents they serve. These connections are sustained through a growing range of initiatives:
- AI Connector Network
- Broadband READY Program
- Illinois Digital Navigator Program
- Statewide Computer Equity Network: PCs for People
- Accelerate Broadband Infrastructure Planning Program
- Illinois Connected Communities
- …and more!
Importantly, these are mutual partnerships rather than one-way transactions. Our partners enable us to identify community needs through continuous dialogue, shared data, and hands-on collaboration — so that our work stays grounded in what Illinois communities actually need.
Connect With Us
The Illinois Broadband Lab is a proud affiliate of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), which advances digital equity by supporting community programs and equipping policymakers to act. Through this affiliation, we stay connected to national best practices and a growing network of digital inclusion practitioners across the country.
If you’d like to learn more about IBL’s stakeholder engagement efforts, data and mapping work, or community programs, please contact us at illinoisbroadbandlab@uillinois.edu. We welcome inquiries from community organizations, local governments, researchers, and anyone interested in advancing digital equity in Illinois.
For information about the State of Illinois’s broadband grant programs — including BEAD and Connect Illinois — visit the Illinois Office of Broadband website or contact broadband@illinois.gov.
