Digital Equity/Digital Inclusion

There is a political consensus that the United States should continue its nearly century long commitment to assuring that the tools of modern communications are universally accessible and affordable. There is also a consensus that the primary program through which we keep that commitment—the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund (USF)—is breaking down.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Arkansas’ Initial Proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative.  This approval enables Arkansas to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. Arkansas was allocated over $1 billion to deploy or upgrade Internet networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service.  

Access to reliable and affordable high-speed internet remains a pressing need across the U.S., especially in states with higher rural populations. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program aims to address the connectivity gap between those who have access and those who don’t.

Although a great deal of attention is on the 2024 elections at the national level, state elections could play a major role in how high-speed networks are rolled out, particularly in regards to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The need for reliable communications is very apparent in the state this week. Since Friday, September 27, Western North Carolina has been experiencing catastrophic flooding as a result of Hurricane Helene.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved $172 million in the sixth round of grants for last mile broadband projects as part of the $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program, which expands broadband internet access for underserved and unserved communities across California.

In June 2024, ConnectRI, a program of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation (RICC) released the final and approved version of the state's Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Initial Proposal Volume II.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Carolina’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. This approval enables Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Carolina to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. This action allows states to request:  

As states gear up to allocate Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) money, the challenges of permitting are top-of-mind for all parties involved in the process. To ensure that local governments and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can reduce broadband network construction challenges, The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, in partnership with the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy, the American Association for Public Broadband, Fiber Broadband Association, Brightspeed, and GFiber, held a summit earlier to discuss the issues and recommend solutions

Digital safety is a growing concern among experts and lawmakers, and among those surveyed for state digital equity planning efforts. Digital risk impacts everyone who interacts directly with internet-enabled devices as well as those exploited, marginalized, or surveilled by algorithmic and data-dependent systems. My latest research examines the tensions between the goals of:

XKL confirms its compliance with Build America Buy America (BABA). The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD), part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), will provide $42.45 billion in funding to states to support the deployment of high-speed broadband internet access to underserved areas. Subgrantees (service providers) must maintain BABA compliance through the life of their BEAD-funded projects, directly influencing vendor selection.