Amy Huffman

The loss of the Digital Equity Act impacted each of us differently. Some National Digital Inclusion Alliance affiliates had to scrap projects, others had to make hard staffing decisions and lay off staff, and some organizations have shuttered their doors. And yet, time and time again, our brilliant, amazing community of NDIA affiliates has demonstrated resilience and tenacity that humbles the NDIA team.

National Digital Inclusion Alliance affiliates and partners showed up en masse to the two listening sessions the National Telecommunications and Information Administration hosted on February 11 and February 18 to “gather input from stakeholders to inform NTIA’s future planning and policy development” for the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program’s non-deployment funds. With 1,500 people registered, the first listening session was so oversubscribed that the agency hosted a second session.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in May 2025 that the Universal Service Fund program is constitutional, Congress renewed its efforts to modernize the program. In August, the bipartisan, bicameral USF Working Group again invited public input through a request for comments on the future of USF funding structure and programs.

Two pieces of news came across our desks this morning that we wanted to share regarding the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program (BEAD) and the status of guidance from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on how states can use BEAD Non-Deployment funds. On October 28, NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth delivered a speech regarding the BEAD program.

In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress specified five distinct ways that States and Territories could use the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment funds. States could competitively sub-grant funds to: 

The 1996 Telecommunications Act not only established the Universal Service Fund and its programs, it also required that the Federal Communications Commission regularly provide a report that determines “whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.” To develop the report, Congress required the FCC to release a Notice of Inquiry to gather information for the public record and inform the Commission’s final determination of whether ‘advanced

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society joined Access Humboldt, Common Sense Media, Everyone On, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, and New America's Open Technology Institute (all members of the Lifeline Coalition*) in a filing in the Federal Communications Commission's RE: DELETE, DELETE, DELETE proceeding. With the expiration of the Affordable Connectivity Program, millions of households lost the support they relied on to access the internet.

On March 5th, 16 National Digital Inclusion Alliance affiliates from across the country, half of the NDIA team, and several of NDIA’s partners spent the day on Capitol Hill to share with Congress how NDIA’s 2,000 affiliates help people in their districts get and stay online safely. In total, we had 65 meetings with staff from the Senate and House offices of 23 states.

Well, folks, the day we’ve been waiting for is finally here—the Digital Equity Act funds are finally making their way to communities around the country to support digital inclusion work on the ground.

Michigan is once again leading the country with its innovation. This time, however, the innovation isn’t new technology—but a funding strategy that would catalyze new technologies, and ensure access to jobs, healthcare, education, and government services are available and accessible in perpetuity.