How Can States Plan for the Long Game of Digital Equity?

The $65 billion included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is intended to finally close a technology gap identified more than three decades ago, giving “every American” access to affordable, high-speed Internet.Almost two-thirds of the Infrastructure Act's broadband dollars will go to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). States have until July 18 to send NTIA a letter of intent to participate in the program. The BEAD timeline overlaps with another NTIA program, the Digital Equity Act (DEA). The DEA is intended to spur the achievement of digital equity. It includes $60 million in grants to help states create five-year digital equity plans. The deadline for application is July 12. Funds will be available in September 2022, and states have 12 months to make plans. There’s an important reason to take a hard look at these programs and timelines: The BEAD five-year plan must incorporate the DEA five-year plan. Along the way, states need to figure out how to make their programs sustainable once the federal dollars stop flowing, so citizens can rely on broadband indefinitely into the future. With billions of broadband infrastructure dollars at stake, states have to ensure that digital equity programs are sustainable long after federal money has been spent.

[June 15]