State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program

Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), the public agency leading the statewide expansion of broadband and digital equity in Maine, has opened a competitive grant program for Maine-based organizations. The program will enable greater opportunities for individuals and communities through access to digital skills, devices, internet safety education, and technical support. In the first phase of the Digital Opportunity Networks grant program application, MCA is accepting letters of intent from nonprofits, state agencies, local and Tribal governments and similar public entities.

President Biden made a commitment to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet by 2030. We are on track to meet that goal. In the coming years, the work started by the Biden Administration is expected to deliver the following benefits and milestones:

In an open letter, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. shared a summary of the progress the Biden-Harris administration made over the last four years. The focus of the letter is on economic recovery and the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. A key tenet is President Biden's Investing in America agenda, which aimed to mobilize historic levels of  investments in the United States and revitalize U.S. infrastructure, including broadband internet access. Here is a look at President Biden's broadband accomplishments as he prepares to leave office.

The National Telecommunications Administration (NTIA) awarded the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Commission for Educational Technology over $9 million in Digital Equity Capacity Grant funding towards implementing the state's Digital Equity Plan.

The vast majority of funding in the immense Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is focused on building physical networks to locations where people are unconnected or insufficiently connected. Investments and research have traditionally privileged the wires and poles of broadband infrastructure without accounting for or making explicit the human infrastructure needed to enable digital opportunity.

In its State Digital Equity Plan, the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) embraces digital equity to ensure that every person in New Mexico has equal opportunities to access education, health care, job prospects, government services, and information critical to personal growth and well-being.

Back in 2024––October, to be exact––the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) over $22 million through the Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program to implement its Digital Connectivity

Governor Laura Kelly announced that the Kansas Office of Broadband Development will begin accepting applications on Feb. 3, 2025, for funding from the National Telecommunications Information and Administration (NTIA) Digital Equity Capacity Grant program. There will be a total of $8.2 million available in funding. The program promotes partnerships to enhance digital opportunity efforts and expand workforce skills, education, and other resources. While applicants are encouraged to develop new and innovative strategies, the program targets projects in the following areas:

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award applications from Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, North Dakota, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, allowing them to request access to more than $60.6 million to implement their Digital Equity Plans. With this announcement, NTIA has approved and recommended for award all state and U.S. Territory applications for the first round of funding from the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from Washington, allowing the state to request access to more than $15.9 million to implement its Digital Equity Plan. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Washington will use the $15,983,29 in funding to implement key digital equity initiatives, including: