Individuals with Disabilities

A Voyage to Digital Equity in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

The Commonwealth of the North Mariana Islands (CNMI) Broadband Policy & Development (BPD) Office released its draft Digital Equity Plan, A Voyage to Digital Equity in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. In the dynamic landscape of the digital age, where information and opportunities surge like currents across the Marianas Trench, the concept of digital equity emerges as CNMI's northern star.

State of the Union Address

Thanks to our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 46,000 new projects have been announced across your communities – modernizing our roads and bridges, ports and airports, and public transit systems. ... Providing affordable high speed internet for every American no matter where you live. 

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill

The Fiscal Year 2024 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act provides a total of $68.537 billion in discretionary funding.  The bill provides $10.8 billion for the Department of Commerce.

For the First Time, All States will have a Plan to Address Digital Equity

All 50 States, DC, and Puerto Rico have submitted their Digital Equity Plans to NTIA for acceptance. This is a milestone moment in closing the digital divide. For the first time in our nation’s history, each state will have a plan to connect communities with the resources they need to achieve digital equity. That’s never been true before, and it’s an exciting indicator of how far we’ve come as a nation in acknowledging and addressing this challenge.

Hawai'i Digital Equity Plan

The vision of the Digital Equity Plan for Hawaiʻi will be the overarching guide that will steer the direction of all strategies, objectives, and actions in this plan. As remote work, online learning, telehealth services, and virtual interactions became essential, individuals and communities faced immense obstacles getting digitally connected. These challenges will continue without high quality Internet access, adequate tools, and the necessary digital literacy skills.

Why Leading with Digital Equity Matters

Maine is the first state in the country to have its Digital Equity Plan approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). This is a major accomplishment in that this represents the first statewide Digital Equity Plan to ever be developed for our state (and the first tied to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—also known as Bipartisan Infrastructure Law). And, it is fitting that our Digital Equity Plan can now be put into motion ahead of any infrastructure deployed through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

Digital Equity Plan for Older Adults & Adults with Disabilities

This Digital Equity Plan for Older Adults and People with Disabilities in San Francisco details an extensive investigative and strategic planning process aimed at enhancing digital equity for San Francisco's older adults and people with disabilities. The primary goals of this Plan are to describe the digital equity barriers and needs of San Francisco's older adults and people with disabilities, as well as the organizations that serve them.

Broadband's Role in Federal Equity Action Plans

Through the implementation of two Executive Orders on equity and President Joe Biden's Investing in America Agenda, the Biden-Harris Administration is working to advance opportunity and make real the promise of America for everyone.  In the rural South and dense 

Sustaining the Movement and Funding: The Future of Digital Inclusion

We have 1,300 people at Net Inclusion 2024 in Philadelphia. We’ve secured $2.75 billion from the Digital Equity Act. And this is just the beginning. It has to be just the beginning. So how do we sustain this movement? The answer to sustainability lies in robust digital inclusion ecosystems. They’re the key to HOLISTIC digital inclusion. Digital equity is the goal, and digital inclusion ecosystems lead us there by weaving together digital inclusion activities happening across your communities. These 6 strategies will help sustain our movement and field:

FCC Proposes Solution to Expand Multilingual Emergency Alerts

The Federal Communications Commission proposed rules that would make it easier for emergency managers to send emergency alerts in non-English languages to the public over television and radio. The proposal would remove a key barrier to sending multilingual messages through the Emergency Alert System, which could in turn spur more alerts that are accessible to more people—and potentially save lives. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted February 15, the Commission is seeking comment on proposals to: