Marginalized Populations

Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) has been the talk of the town for the past few years. The U.S. government touts the program is key to closing the country’s digital divide once and for all. Billions of dollars are on the line, so BEAD must succeed...right? I don't want to downplay BEAD's importance too much, because we'll probably never see something like it again in our lifetimes. But amid all the uncertainty about what BEAD will and won't be under Trump, there's a glaring elephant in the room.

This week, Congress passed the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, this year's version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The law authorizes $895.2 billion for Department of Defense programs, defense-related activities, and national security programs in the Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $313 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers and business owners in 18 states to reliable high-speed internet.

The Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation, and Technology (OSIT) is ready to submit the Final Proposal for the state’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA). The Final Proposal will include the provisional winners of Nevada’s first round of BEAD funding.

More than 80% of Canadians have access to fixed broadband networks, but for rural Canadians that figure drops to just 60%. Yet, this gap between who has broadband access and who doesn't is closing in rural areas at a rate nearly three times faster than in urban areas.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration and Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) within the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) announced $6,326,054 in awards to 3,512 affordable housing units across nine Massachusetts communities. The awards are part of the Residential Retrofit Program, an initiative from MBI that works with housing operators and internet service providers (ISPs) to upgrade broadband infrastructure in public and affordable housing properties.

One in four Americans list “saving money” as a top 2025 New Year’s resolution, and nearly a quarter of a million people ask Google about internet costs every month. Auditing your internet bill is a simple way to start. HighSpeedInternet.com’s latest report reveals average internet costs by state and provides tools you can use to compare providers and save money.

A growing body of work has identified a digital language divide: the disparity between languages in terms of digital content availability, accessibility, and technological support.

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has recommended for award more than $276 million to 44 Tribal entities to expand high-speed Internet access and adoption. The funding from the nearly $3 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's Internet for All Initiative.

With a new Trump administration entering power in late January, the regulatory wheels are already in motion and work is underway to prepare for big changes likely to arrive in 2025. ACA Connects CEO Grant Spellmeyer generally believes that the new administration will be good for ACA Connects' membership.