Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program

A federal judge in July gave digital equity advocates a partial victory against President Donald Trump, stopping his attempt to unilaterally kill a multibillion-dollar grant program Congress created. But U.S. District Judge John D. Bates, in a 35-page opinion, also agreed with the administration that it was unconstitutional for the government to use race or ethnicity as the basis to award money under a program created to expand internet skills and access.

The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program and the Native Entity Grant Program, designed to support Native Entities in implementing essential broadband adoption and usage programs, are open for application. Indian Tribes, Alaska Native entities, and Native Hawaiian organizations are eligible applicants for both programs.

The United States is a global technology leader, yet millions of Americans lack the internet access, devices, or skills to benefit from its technological capabilities or participate fully in the digital economy. Recognizing this divide in 2021, Congress passed the largest federal investment in broadband in U.S.

For Headlines readers who got nervous for me this morning, I’m fine, but… After five years, today is my last day working at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. When I was in college, one of my professors told me to subscribe to a newsletter, Benton’s Daily Digest (or “Headlines,” to me and to many). I thought it was crazy that such a comprehensive resource was published each morning, five days a week. Less than a year later, it became my job to put Headlines together every day.

The House overwhelmingly passed a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month, sending it to President Trump’s desk and punting a spending fight until after the midterm elections. The legislation includes language temporarily blocking the White House budget office from carrying out a proposed rule that would allow the administration to cancel grants to recipients that do not conform to Trump’s political views and enable his team to steer significant funding to causes and organizations aligned with him.

Earlier this month, we reported that the Department of Commerce told a federal court it would reinstate the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program and was targeting a December 2026 opening. Three things have happened since. The parties agreed to pause the litigation and put their remaining disagreements on the record. Judge John D. Bates set the dates by which the government must report its progress.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published a public notice on August 25 seeking public comment on the application forms it will use for a revived Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program, the first public confirmation that work on the program's relaunch is underway. The notice opens a 60-day comment period under the Paperwork Reduction Act, with comments due October 26, 2026, and is a revision of an existing clearance (OMB Control Number 0660–0055) rather than a new one.

In a joint status report filed August 17, 2026, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and the U.S.

A recent court ruling holds good news for digital skills advocates, signaling that $1.25 billion in Digital Equity Act funding is back on the table. National Skills Coalition Senior Government Affairs Manager Caroline Treschitta and Senior Fellow Amanda Bergson-Shilcock explain what happened and what it means for skills advocates.

There seems to be an increasing chance that the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program is back in play. In a status report filed by the Department of Commerce in the lawsuit where the National Digital Inclusion Alliance filed to reinstate the grant program, the government said it is targeting a December 2026 opening date for applications for the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program. Like everything associated with the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program and the Digital Equity Grant programs, nothing is final until this is put in place.