Digital Equity/Digital Inclusion

With the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program's (BEAD) $42 billion to expand high-speed internet access across the country, Lehigh County officials will audit municipalities to assess the state of residents’ internet access and report the county’s needs to the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded $49,112,883.26 in funds from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 to tribes in two states. The awards will provide funds for high-speed internet infrastructure deployment projects through the Internet for All Initiative’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians of Mississippi and the Osage Nation of Oklahoma. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will receive $8,433,633.26 to install fiber to connect 2,190 unserved Native American hou

Wilmington (NC) City Council unanimously approved spending $2.5 million from federal COVID recovery funds on an employment program to connect residents to tech and digital industry jobs. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds will help provide digital skills training and job placement services, focusing on what the city calls “high opportunity, high need” census tracts around the city. Wilmington expects that over 17,000 jobs added in the region between 2020 and 2023 will require 'digital skills.' The program, called Digital Bridge Wilmington, is expected to launch early in 2023.

Fort Worth, Texas, is partnering with Cisco Systems to offer free Wi-Fi within five of the city's underserved neighborhoods, potentially providing Internet access to as many as 40,000 residents this fall. The outbreak of COVID-19 exposed connectivity challenges in Fort Worth, illustrating the importance of residents having access to a reliable Internet connection at home to participate in education, healthcare and employment opportunities.

Two new programs will help leaders and local government officials address their community’s needs in practical, efficient, clear-eyed ways, with sensitivity to all the things that make their community unique: the "Urban Digital Equity Bootcamp," (UDEB) and the "Let's Get Going Broadband Program" (LGGB).

Community specialists with Washington State University (WSU) Extension are partnering with the Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) to enhance the capacity of Washington communities, especially those in rural and remote areas, to provide better and more equitable access to reliable, high-speed internet.