Digital Equity/Digital Inclusion

On March 27, 2025, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing to consider the confirmation of Arielle Roth, President Donald Trump's nominee for Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. If confirmed as the Assistant Secretary and head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Roth would oversee $48.2 billion in broadband infrastructure and adoption funding Congress allocated through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The Maine Connectivity Authority is the state agency responsible for implementing the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. The MCA team and partners have worked tens of thousands of hours over the past three years to develop and execute thou

WISPA – The Association for Broadband Without Boundaries submitted remarks to the Federal Communications Commission in response to the In Re: Delete, Delete, Delete request for comments. WISPA offered several recommendations, including:

The Idaho Commission for Libraries (ICfL) shared a couple of important updates about the Digital Access for All Idahoans (DAAI) Plan. The ICfL did not receive full spending authority from the Idaho Legislature for the federally funded DAAI Plan in the upcoming fiscal year. This impacts the scope of projects and opportunities tied to the plan. Notably, the ICfL will not be allowed to open another round of monetary subgrants in fiscal year 2026. The ICfL does anticipate being able to award the initial round of subgrants that opened in fall 2024.

Twenty years into the World Summit on the Information Society process, there are still fundamental challenges in meeting universal access goals. This shortfall is ultimately due to the absence of a business case that meets traditional operators’ profitability requirements. While traditional telecom operators have played an important role in bringing billions of people online, many developing countries still face significant hurdles.

The Colorado Broadband Office released its 2024 Year in Review, providing progress updates on the goal of connecting 99 percent of Colorado households to high-speed internet. Some highlights include: 

The ConnectALL Deployment Program in New York has released their Request for Applications for priority, reliable, and alternative technology solutions for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. The RFA seeks proposals for about $644 million in funding.

The Vermont Community Broadband Board is inviting residents to attend the first regular Digital Empowerment Quarterly Meeting. It’s an opportunity to get an update on our work, share ideas, and ask questions. Vermont’s DE Plan is the way Vermont will make sure every resident has high-quality, accessible, affordable technology resources and knows how to use them. The virtual meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 16, 2:00-3:30.

On Thursday, April 10, the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority Board of Directors voted on proposed guidelines for the PBDA’s Digital Skills and Community Capacity Program. The program, funded by the federal Digital Equity Act’s State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, will provide $25 million for digital inclusion programs in the Keystone State. The eleven-member board voted 9-1 to approve the guidelines, with one abstention.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association submitted remarks to the Federal Communications Commission in response to the In Re: Delete, Delete, Delete request for comments. NRECA's comments focused on several rules, including transparency and reporting requirements. "Broadband providers that receive high-cost support are currently required not only to file detailed deployment data in the Universal Service Administrative Company High Cost Universal Broadband portal, but also to file coverage data twice each year in the Broadband Data Collection program.