For the First Time, All States will have a Plan to Address Digital Equity

All 50 States, DC, and Puerto Rico have submitted their Digital Equity Plans to NTIA for acceptance. This is a milestone moment in closing the digital divide. For the first time in our nation’s history, each state will have a plan to connect communities with the resources they need to achieve digital equity. That’s never been true before, and it’s an exciting indicator of how far we’ve come as a nation in acknowledging and addressing this challenge. 2024 is a big year for digital equity where we’ll start investing millions of dollars to empower communities with the skills, devices, and capacity needed for people to thrive online. This year alone, nearly $800 million will be available to states through our State Capacity Grant program when we launch our first funding opportunity this year. Along the way, we are not losing sight of why this work matters. In an increasingly digital world, communities need access to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet, regardless of their background or circumstances.