State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today has approved and recommended for award applications from Alabama and Utah, allowing them to request access to more than $20 million to implement their Digital Equity Plans. 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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The states will use the funding to implement key digital equity initiatives.

Alabama: $13,702,566

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from New York, allowing the state to request access to more than $36 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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. New York will use its $36,984,641 in funding to implement key digital equity initiatives, including:

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from Minnesota, allowing the state to request access to more than $12 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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Minnesota will use the $12,033,288 in funding to implement key digital equity initiatives, including:

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from Connecticut, allowing the state to request access to more than $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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Connecticut will use the $9,183,114 in funding to implement key digital equity initiatives, including:

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from New Mexico, allowing the state to request access to more than $8 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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  The state will use the funding to implement key digital equity initiatives.

New Mexico: $8,673,975

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from California, allowing the state to request access to more than $70 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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The state will use the funding to implement key digital equity initiatives.

California: $70,226,453

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award applications from Georgia and Indiana, allowing them to request access to more than $37 million to implement their Digital Equity Plans. 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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The states will use the funding to implement key digital equity initiatives.

Georgia: $22,455,639

States are using their digital equity plans to demonstrate how successful digital inclusion efforts can advance progress toward other goals, including improvements to civic and social engagement, economic development, education, health care, and delivery of essential services.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded more than $6.3 million to Idaho 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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

In 2021, Congress enacted the Digital Equity Act (DEA) as part of the massive Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This marked the first time that federal lawmakers had dedicated funding specifically for digital equity programming, providing money for state broadband offices to analyze the digital equity landscape in their states and develop plans to reduce the barriers to accessing such critical service. For the first time, all 50 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico created digital equity plans under the planning grant program.