Digital Equity/Digital Inclusion

With more state and local government agencies prioritizing broadband, experts say it is important to make sure the work they are doing is sustainable. In fact, Merit — an independent nonprofit corporation governed by Michigan’s public universities — is hosting an 

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration awarded an $18.9 million Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) grant to the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada (ITCN). This grant will fund high-speed internet infrastructure deployment, use, and adoption projects to improve connectivity across Tribal lands.

Many residents of federally subsidized public and multifamily housing have no access to high-speed internet service. Others may be able to get online only in restricted spaces, such as common areas, or have access in their units that is unreliable or unaffordable. This limited broadband access, meanwhile, can exacerbate long-standing economic and societal inequities.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are community anchors with the influence and expertise that states need as they prepare for unprecedented federal broadband funding to equitably close the digital divide in the United States.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded $143,639,693.50 in funds from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 to Tribes in California and Washington.The awards provide funds for high-speed internet infrastructure deployment projects through the Internet for All Initiative’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program for the Hoopa Valley Tribal Council and Yurok Telecommunications in California and the Spokane Tribe of Indians in Washington.

Digital equity is a key promise of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. If successful, the new law will lead to everyone and every community around the country having the connections and skills they need to fully participate in our increasingly digital economy and society. It seems like a tall order.

States and territories were required to inform the National Telecommunications and Information Administration by July 18 if they intended to participate in the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. After NTIA approves a state’s anticipated planning process (due August 15), BEAD unlocks $5 million to each participating state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico ($1.25 million for the four smaller territories) for initial planning.

The Rosebud Indian Reservation and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota will have their own broadband services after being awarded an almost $70 million federal grant that officials predict will connect 3,300 homes. The money will come from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). The funding can also be used for telehealth, distance learning, broadband affordability, and digital inclusion.

The Federal Communications Commission committed nearly $42 million in two new funding rounds through the Emergency Connectivity Program (ECP), which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.

The most important decision when designing and building a statewide middle-mile fiber-based network is whether to build a brand new long-distance fiber-optic cable route in areas where none exist, or use strands within an already installed cable via a pre-paid, discounted long-term lease called an IRU. In California for example, its great diversity of population centers, geographic and topographic terrains, weather conditions, and natural hazards greatly influences the presence, or absence, of fiber-based middle-mile infrastructure.