Gov’t Initiatives

Federal Programs

Federally announced timeline for BEAD allocation – allocations by June 30, 2023

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Digital Equity in the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, including COVS (Computers for Veterans and Students)

The Digital Equity Foundation Act was introduced in September, 2022

See our Affordable Connectivity Plan resources page for resources related to the ACP.

NDIA has put together a set of resources related to the Digital Equity Act (DEA), as well as a page of resources related to Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding.

BroadbandUSA’s Federal Funding site connects you to funding opportunities that support broadband planning, digital inclusion, and deployment projects. Funding information can be found in the Federal Funding Guide.

As of November 15, 2021 the bipartisan infrastructure bill (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) has become law. It includes $65 billion for broadband and digital equity, and is a huge step forward. Read the NDIA blog posts about the bill passing in the House,  passing the Senate, as well as the pre-passage summary of broadband aspects of the bill. Benton Institute has a great summary of the digital equity aspects of the bill, as well as a breakdown of each of the provisions.

NDIA blog post on $30 broadband offerings from major ISPs

On April 6, 2022, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform passed H.R. 3544 for full consideration in the House of Representatives. The bill, the Computers for Veterans and Students Act, would make hundreds of thousands of repairable federal computers available to nonprofit refurbishers to repair and distribute in communities nationwide.

City, County, Regional, and State-based Initiatives

  1. The 2022 Digital Equity Trailblazers list was released on August 22, 2022. This is a public inventory of local government initiatives promoting digital skills and broadband access for underserved residents. See here for the NDIA blog entry. Congratulations to all those communities which support their citizens and made the list
  2. Massachusetts Digital Equity Partnership Program (Sept, 2022)
  3. Washington State legislation:  HB 1723 signed into law March 31, 2022
  4. Philadelphia’s Digital Equity Plan (Feb 2022)
  5. How Your Community Can Quickly Connect the Unconnected from CLIC (Coalition for Local Internet Choice)
  6. Southeast Indiana Regional Digital Inclusion Plan (sirpc.org)
  7. The Southern Chester County Digital Equity & Literacy Initiative – Slide deck from December 9th presentation
  8. Colorado proposed legislation. SB22-140: Expansion of Experiential Learning –
    would allocate $2 million from the state’s General Fund to support digital navigators and skill-building- introduced Feb 2022
  9. The Pew Charitable Trusts maintains a List of State broadband policies as of April, 2021
  10. North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s Broadband Infrastructure Office has published their Digital Inclusion Template Guide to help communities strategically prioritize creating digital equity for their residents
  11. Maryland is using Federal funding to address the digital divide, described here
  12. A summary piece, published February 2019 on From St. Louis to San Francisco, what cities are doing to bridge the digital divide
  13. Austin’s Digital Inclusion Page, containing updates to city initiatives in implementing their Digital Strategic Inclusion Plan
  14. Connecticut has developed a Digital Equity Toolkit. Though it references some Connecticut specifics, the framework for factors to consider and who to engage is generally useful
  15. There is an initiative in California to provide Internet for all, raised originally in the context of a Comcast-Time Warner merger http://www.internetforallnow.org/
  16. Kansas City has the Kansas City Coalition for Digital Inclusion page and has published a research paper on Community Learning Centers
  17. Minneapolis’s Digital Inclusion Page describing the efforts in their city
  18. New York efforts include
    1.  Internet Master Plan, New York City announces plan to advance racial equity for 1.6 millions citizens October, 2021
    2. June 2018 launch of Digital Equity Lab
    3. City initiatives for broadband in public housing and universal broadband
  19. Philadelphia has funding for Digital Inclusion initiatives available. Details at Digital Literacy Alliance
  20. Portland’s page on Broadband and Digital Equity (October 2018)
  21. The San Francisco Digital Equity
  22. Seattle has a mature and robust program for increasing digital skills. Here are links to Seattle’s take on Digital Equity and  their Digital Equity Initiative.
  23. Chicago’s Technology Resources
  24. Lessons, cases and resources developed by local technology champions and planners
  25. Charlotte (NC) Digital Inclusion Alliance has published a playbook, providing a road-map of strategies for reducing Charlotte’s digital divide from 19% to 9% by 2026.
  26. In Cleveland, they have established a Greater Cleveland Digital Equity Fund which will provide resources for digital inclusion activities in the short-term and long-term

If you are aware of others, please send us an email or use the contact form.