Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program

The end of the Affordability Connectivity Program and changes to the Digital Equity Act have made broadband bills a burden for needy families, and new solutions are needed. That’s according to a new report from Older Adults Technology Services organization within the American Association of Retired Persons, published February 26. Nearly a third of older Americans (32 percent) lacked fully wired broadband access at home, according to 2023 data, the AARP report pointed out, amounting to more than 19 million people.

Close to a 1,000 broadband-minded registrants attended a listening session on how to spend an estimated $21 billion in “non-deployment” funds states should have at their disposal from the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. Hosted by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration, the online listening session featured about 50 selected speakers. 

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies released "State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Black Recession," a continuation of a series of reports exploring the ways that policies and practices in the United States are structured to consistently disadvantage Black and Latino workers and families.

State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Black Recession is the product of a collaborative effort drawing on the expertise of Joint Center staff, fellows, and trusted external partners. Key takeaways include:

It’s been a year of sweeping and controversial changes for a huge federal broadband initiative. The $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program was created in 2021 with bipartisan support and an ambitious goal: bring high-speed internet access to every home and business in the U.S., no matter how remote.

The Blue Ridge Broadband Alliance launched in June of 2025 with a clear goal: to make sure no one in Western North Carolina is left on the wrong side of the digital divide. As the nation and state invest billions in broadband infrastructure, local coordination and community voice have never been more important. In just six months, the BRBA has brought together leaders, industry experts, public officials, and passionate members of the WNC community to learn, collaborate, and advocate for the region’s needs.

One of the big glaring weaknesses of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program was that the enabling legislation and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration rules made it impossible to consider affordability as a criterion for selecting BEAD grant winners.

It’s clear that federal funding for digital inclusion activities is dead. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the White House killed the funding for the Digital Equity Act, and it’s looking increasingly certain that NTIA is going to kill most or all of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program non-deployment funds. These two sources of funding were going to be used to get a lot of computers and devices into the hands of people who need them and train millions of people to better use broadband.

We have several sets of broadband priorities at odds with each other in the country. The federal government is on a big push to move all transactions with the government to digital. The government is also clearly supporting an AI revolution where AI is supposed to revolutionize the way we work and live. According to federal government rhetoric, we are a little bit ahead of the Chinese in terms of AI development, and politicians seem to support the idea of doing whatever is needed to make sure that the U.S. wins the AI race.

The results of digital skills training are of growing interest to policymakers and other stakeholders. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Digital Equity Act (DEA) programs explicitly states that grantees must assess the outcomes of initiatives DEA may fund. That is not the only motivation for understanding the impacts of digital skills programs. States, counties, or local philanthropies that fund such initiatives will want to know their impacts.