State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program

On March 19, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, with support from AARP, hosted a webinar titled Understanding Internet Access and Use Among Older Adults. Revati Prasad, PhD, Vice President of Programs at the Benton Institute, previewed the new report, Older Adults Online: Measuring Internet Access and Use, and moderated a panel of experts who discussed the needs of older adult populations.

Today, we published Older Adults Online: Measuring Internet Access and Use, guidance to help states develop the indicators and methodologies that will help them measure progress and identify ongoing connectivity gaps and hurdles. Our guide provides an overview of statutory requirements about indicators and measurable objectives from the Digital equity Act (DEA).

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Broadband Policy and Development (BPD) Office was created in 2023 with a commitment to addressing the internet infrastructure challenges in CNMI. Under this commitment, the CNMI BPD Office assumed the responsibility of spearheading CNMI's efforts to secure federal support, like the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Digital Equity Capacity Grant, and coordinate the effective utilization of broadband funding for residents.

The Idaho Commission for Libraries, public libraries and partners, and the people of Idaho are once again caught in the culture war’s crosshairs. There’s been a last-minute effort by some members of the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee to eliminate the $6.3 million that has been appropriated by Congress to implement the Digital Access for All Idahoans Plan.

Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) is proud to announce the kickoff of its Digital Empowerment Plan. The DE Plan is the way Vermont will make sure every Vermonter has high-quality, accessible, affordable technology resources and knows how to use them.

On November 1, 2024, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) and its Wisconsin Broadband Office (WBO) received over $13 million in Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). With this funding, WBO will implement the activities in its state Digital Equity Plan.

On December 6, 2024, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) over $5.7 million in Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program funding towards closing the digital divide in the state. Maine plans to use these funds to spearhead a number of initiatives, including:

To close Montana’s digital divide, the Montana Broadband Office created a Digital Opportunity Plan, which addresses broadband adoption barriers in four main areas: availability, service affordability, device access, and digital skills.

On November 1, 2024, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded the West Virginia Department of Economic Development (WVDED) over $9 million in Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program funding to implement the West Virginia Digital Equity Plan. Major activities NTIA is supporting include:

The Be Linked Alabama initiative is the state’s united effort to expand access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet to all Alabamians. Coordinated by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), Be Linked Alabama led to the development of the Alabama Statewide Digital Opportunity Plan.