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Round-Up for the Week of May 4-8

A year ago today, President Trump abruptly “canceled” the Digital Equity Act (DEA) for being a “woke handout.” The DEA, created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, directed funding to states, territories, and community organizations to address the Digital Divide and ensure that everyone has internet-enabled devices, reliable internet service, and the skills needed to use broadband to improve their lives. The goal: universal, meaningful connectivity. 

The President’s declaration brought to a halt years of considered and considerable work by states, counties, community organizations, national nonprofits, and a multitude of other stakeholders to understand and begin to solve the barriers to universal connectivity. Every state and territory had conducted surveys, held listening sessions, and crafted plans to close the Digital Divide.

In October 2025, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), which won an award to ramp up its digital navigation work in 11 states, filed suit against the Administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the cancellation of the award after funds had been appropriated was unconstitutional. If NDIA wins in court, it will be a victory for all DEA grants that were rescinded and the DEA programs in general. 

Universal, meaningful connectivity is not a partisan goal. The DEA is not about a political ideology. 

Congress responded to decades of evidence from researchers, federal agencies, states, and communities documenting the persistence of the digital divide.

• The market fails to build in rural areas where returns are too low.

• Low-income households are priced out of service.

• Seniors, veterans, people with language barriers, and people with disabilities face compounding challenges that limit broadband adoption and use.

• Incarceration creates a “digital moat” that continues to impact people even after reentry.

• And yes, race and ethnicity correlate with persistent gaps in access, even controlling for income.

These barriers overlap and reinforce each other. Persistently poor counties are more likely to be rural. Veterans are more likely to be older, disabled, or live in rural areas. The point of the Digital Equity Act is not to sort Americans into categories, but to recognize that different communities face different barriers and require different solutions. 

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act established complementary programs meant to address gaps in infrastructure, affordable service, and broadband adoption. Congress identified a group of eight “covered populations” that faced persistent overlapping adoption barriers, a framework that reflects reality, not racial preference. In fact, the eight covered populations together represent a substantial majority of all Americans. According to a 2022 U.S. Census Bureau analysis, more than 97 percent of residents in West Virginia fell into at least one Covered Population. Even in Utah—the state with the lowest proportion—62 percent of residents qualified. In other words, the DEA was designed to address a problem affecting most Americans, not a narrow subset.

Congress directed states to understand how these groups experienced barriers to broadband adoption and then develop digital equity plans to address those barriers. Congress’s identification of covered populations is about targeting efforts where they are most needed and designing programs that meet people’s needs. 

A digital literacy effort for seniors may look very different from outreach to non-native English speakers or helping incarcerated individuals reenter the workforce. That is not discrimination. It is competent policymaking. 

The Administration argues that the DEA is analogous to affirmative action, citing the recent Supreme Court ruling against Harvard’s use of race in their admission process. 

But universal connectivity is not like college admissions. College admissions allocate scarce slots. One person’s gain is another’s loss. The Digital Equity Act does not allocate a fixed benefit among competing individuals, and definitely not on the basis of identity. A DEA-supported digital navigator at a library could not (and would not) turn anyone away for not being a part of a covered population. 

The DEA framework more closely follows the logic of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).   In just one small example of the importance of the ADA, the law led to curb cuts at pedestrian crossings, which accommodate individuals with mobility impairments and benefit everyone. Broadband adoption programs work in much the same way. They are targeted responses to documented barriers, but the benefits spill far beyond any one group. 

Universal, meaningful connectivity is not zero-sum. Expanding the network's universe of users can increase its benefits and value for everyone who uses it.

The Trump Administration has promised greater government efficiency, arguing that the government needed to be results-oriented. 

The DEA and its list of covered populations represent a logical, efficient approach: you go where the problem is—and you solve it. 

That is what Congress mandated. That is what states planned for. That is what communities were poised to implement before President Trump illegally ended DEA programs.

Universal, meaningful connectivity is a prerequisite for a functioning economy and an inclusive society. 

We need the DEA programs to help everyone get online. We hope the DC District Court agrees.

Dr. Revati Prasad is the Executive Director of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

Quick Bits

• The Digital Equity Act One Year Later
• Mamdani Administration, Rep. Ritchie Torres Announce $2 Million to Expand Free Broadband Internet Access
• USDA Accepts Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Applications to Improve Access to Remote Education and Health Care in Rural Communities
• House passes the 2026 Farm Bill
• Dish Wireless, Department of Justice Settle ACP, EBB Fraud Case

Weekend Reads

• Fiber is the key to closing the digital divide
• Wi-Fi Demand is Surging
• U.S. State of Ed Tech 2026

ICYMI from Benton

• The Human Infrastructure of Broadband: Looking Back, Looking Around, and Looking Ahead
• Eighth Circuit Vacates FCC Digital Discrimination Rules
• A New Bill Aims To Track BEAD Progress
• The Birth and Evolution of the Community Tech Lab
• Internet Access Costs Too Much for Too Many People. New Mexico Has a Solution.
• The FCC is Proposing Changes in How it Maps the Digital Divide
• The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society's New Board Chair and What Comes Next
• Is the High Cost Fund Ripe for Modernization?

Upcoming Events

May 11—Why the Security Industry Is Fighting a Monopolistic Wireless Spectrum Proposal (Security Industry Association)

May 12-13—Virginia Broadband Telehealth Conference (Broadband Association of Virginia)

May 14—Cybersecurity Workshop for Broadcasters (Federal Communications Commission)

May 15—Cybersecurity Workshop for Telecommunications Carriers (Federal Communications Commission)

May 20—May 2026 Open Federal Communications Commission Meeting

Jun 11—Don’t Stop BEAD-lievin’: Tracking Broadband Deployment Progress, Pitfalls, and Policy Implications (Federal Communications Bar Association)

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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