States Getting Ready to Spend Broadband and Digital Equity Dollars

Broadband officials have been hitting the road in 2023, conducting listening sessions across their states and territories. With several holding at least one meeting in every single county, they are cataloging how their residents access the internet and where there are barriers to deploying infrastructure and digital services. These briefings, town halls, and surveys are part of a multistep process that states and territories have started to implement two programs from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA): the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act (DEA) programs. Lawmakers enacted BEAD to ensure that high-speed internet infrastructure is available to every household and business, and DEA to help ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity to make full use of the digital economy. With historic amounts of money, these programs are enabling states and territories to build the operational capacity required to effectively administer the funds and methodically plan strategies for bridging the digital divide.