Digital Divide

The Trump administration revised the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program in June to shift from a fiber-focused program to a tech-neutral one prioritizing low costs.

This paper provides an analysis of previously unpublished demographic-specific data on individuals and households that either: (1) lack any type of computing device, or (2) rely exclusively on smartphones for their internet connectivity. According to data from the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS), 1 in 7 households in the United States fit into one of these categories and thus lack large-screen computers. However, this rate varied widely across socioeconomic characteristics.

Most state and territorial broadband offices have completed subgrantee selections for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program last-mile connectivity projects and submitted their final proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Mission Telecom, a nonprofit telecommunications provider and grantmaker dedicated to expanding digital equity, today announced a new offer to help schools and libraries remain whole after losing federal E-Rate funding for Wi-Fi hotspots and school bus connectivity.

According to New Street Research, U.K. physical wireline broadband subscribers will likely decline by around 250,000 in 2025, despite ongoing housing growth and fiber builds. This would mark “the first time there has ever been a decline” in the country’s fixed broadband market.

Kudos are due to the Trump Administration for making key changes to the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to bring it into line with its underlying statute, while  generating  a better outcome at a fraction of the price. While state submissions are still being reviewed, the program’s total cost could ultimately come in 30 to 50 percent lower than its budgeted amount, saving upwards of $20 billion or more. Even in D.C., that is real money. The well-earned outcome raises questions over what to do with any savings.

The work of digital navigators across the country was to be propped up by a $2.75 billion federal program that was abruptly canceled this spring.

On Sept. 3, the Nebraska Broadband Office, or NBO, released its draft final proposal for how to spend $405 million in federal broadband funds. Advocates for rural broadband like myself fought hard for that money, challenging providers’ overstated coverage and identifying tens of thousands of missing locations. The federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program, or BEAD, promised to fix rural broadband in Nebraska once and for all. Instead, NBO fumbled. Out of $405 million, the plan spends barely $43 million and connects fewer than 1,300 locations to fiber broadband.

A key component of expanding access to high-speed internet, increasing the affordability of connectivity and devices, and providing meaningful digital skills training  is defining what it means to be digitally prepared. Recognizing that digital access alone is not enough, this project introduces the North Carolina Digital Skills Standards, a statewide framework that identifies  the essential knowledge and abilities residents need to engage in civic, economic, and social life.  The key six areas of focus are: 1. Digital Identity 2. Digital Wellbeing 3. Digital Relationships 4.

What comes after Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program? While BEAD will build good broadband networks in a lot of rural communities, it’s becoming clear that BEAD is not going to solve a lot of the rural broadband gap. I start with the premise that rural communities are not going to be happy when somebody officially tells them that the federal government is giving money to Starlink or Kuiper to solve their rural broadband gap.