Individuals who are Members of a Racial or Ethnic Minority Group

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.

Dr. Ruha Benjamin stressed that the people and companies behind the screen, not the technology itself, are responsible for the harms of artificial intelligence. Dr. Benjamin, the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and founding director of the Ida B. Wells JUST Data Lab, called tech industry leaders “the artificial intelligentsia” and warned that they want the public to believe democracy is outdated software. Drawing on Black intellectual tradition from W.E.B.

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.

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.

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

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.

Last week, we covered some of the broadband and digital equity initiatives launched by the states this summer. From digital equity resources in Louisiana to historic investments in broadband infrastructure funding for the Navajo Nation, here are some more notable broadband news bites we've seen from states and Tribal governments around the country.

Cities, counties, nonprofits, libraries, community colleges, and workforce organizations waiting to learn whether the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program is coming back now have a glimmer of hope, albeit a soft one.

Tribal land in southwestern New Mexico could soon get its first broadband connections. The Fort Sill Chiricahua-Warm Springs-Apache Tribe near Akela in Luna County is in line for fiber broadband infrastructure following two $100,000 state broadband planning grants awarded by the state’s broadband office through its Grant Writing, Engineering, and Planning Program. Fort Sill, headquartered in Apache, Oklahoma, currently operates a convenience store and owns about 1,910 acres of an expanded area in Luna County.