The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded more than $9 million to Nevada to implement its Digital Equity Plan. Nevada is the first state to receive funding through the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. States will use this funding to implement their digital equity plans, which outline how states will empower individuals and communities with the tools, skills, and opportunities they need to benefit from meaningful access to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service. Nevada plans to use the funding to implement key digital initiatives, including the following examples:

• To address affordability and access, the state plans to deploy Digital Navigators, promote community Wi-Fi and computer labs at Community Anchor Institutions, and provide assistance in applying for low-cost plans.
• To provide increased access to devices and tech support, the state plans to establish a Device Distribution Matching Fund with private sector support, leverage digital navigators to provide tech support in Community Anchor Institutions, and create a statewide device distribution ecosystem.
• To address digital literacy and skills, Nevada plans to create a public Digital Equity System Asset Map, provide grant training and support to community partners, create a statewide framework for digital skills trainings curriculum, and fund digital literacy classes and on-demand technical support.
• To increase adoption, awareness, and sustainability, Nevada plans to create a Digital Equity Dashboard and Digital Equity Investment Map.

As required by the Digital Equity Act, the $1.25 billion Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program will be established within 30 days of this first State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program award and will make hundreds of millions of dollars available in the first Notice of Funding Opportunity to implement digital equity projects.

The third grant program funded by the Digital Equity Act of 2021 is the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program. This information can guide organizations as they Get Ready to prepare their applications. The grant's purpose is to create the conditions where individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in the society and economy of the United States. Allowable uses of grant awards include:

• Developing and implementing digital inclusion activities that benefit Covered Populations.
• Facilitation the adoption of broadband by Covered Populations.
• Implementing training programs for Covered Populations.
• Making available equipment or technology for broadband services to Covered Populations.
• Constructing, upgrading, extending, or operating new or existing public access computing centers for Covered Populations.

To learn more about the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program, see the Digital Equity Act of 2021.

The Michigan High Speed Internet Office (MIHI) launched Michigan's Inclusive Training, Technology and Equity Network (MITTEN), a $13 million grant program to bolster digital inclusion and capacity building efforts for regional entities and collaboratives throughout the state. Applicants are encouraged to apply to be regional resource hubs and host sites for the state’s regional digital coordinators. These coordinators will play a vital role in supporting the implementation of the Michigan Digital Equity Plan within proposed project areas and supported covered populations. With over $13 million in funds from the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant, MITTEN seeks to promote equitable access to high-speed internet and digital skills training across Michigan. Digital navigators, stationed regionally and within local communities, will address the specific needs of underrepresented, under-invested and underserved areas.

At the end of the first quarter of 2024, T-Mobile and Verizon together have accumulated 8.6 million customers nationwide on fixed wireless access (FWA) cellular home broadband. This is amazing success for a product that was just launched in 2021. The combined FWA customers represent 7 percent of the entire U.S. broadband market. Nobody knows exactly where the companies are finding the new customers because they aren’t telling, and the companies losing customers are mum about it. The appeal of FWA is obvious. The companies offer broadband between 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps in most markets with prices from $50 to $70. FWA has been especially successful by targeting customers in rural areas and charging less than cable companies. Perhaps that's why some industry executives are calling the impact of FWA "temporary." Either way, internet service providers have to decide which is worse—losing customers or lowering prices.

Here’s what to expect for the Federal Communications Commission's jam-packed July Open Meeting agenda.

• We’re bringing common sense and fairness to correctional facility phone rates. The FCC will consider rules to implement this law, which fundamentally reforms the regulation of communications services for correctional facilities and significantly lowers the rates that incarcerated people and their loved ones will pay for their audio and video communications.
• We’re modernizing support to close the Homework Gap. We will vote on rules to allow schools and libraries to use E-Rate resources to offer Wi-Fi hotspots for loan, which will provide internet access for students and library patrons across the country.
• We’re unlocking consumer choice and competition in the mobile marketplace. The FCC will consider a proposal to update our existing handset unlocking requirements, which apply to particular providers in specific circumstances, and expand them to establish a broadly applicable set of requirements for all service providers.
• We’re accelerating improvements to 911. We will vote to create a consistent NG911 transition framework at the national level, which spells out rules that govern what service providers must do to enable 911 upgrades, while providing flexibility to local authorities.
• We’re improving video programming accessibility for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing. The FCC has standards for closed captioning that enable users to customize the font, size, color, and other display features of captions. The Commission will vote on rules to make display settings for closed captioning more “readily accessible” to improve the use of captioning.