How the Competitive Grant Program Awards Are Connecting U.S. Communities

When Congress made a bipartisan commitment to deliver broadband internet access— and the accompanying benefits and opportunities that come with modern connectivity—to all Americans in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021, it recognized that investing in broadband deployment was necessary, but not sufficient to achieve that goal. To this end, the IIJA’s Digital Equity Act (DEA) earmarked funds to ensure all Americans have the skills, knowledge, and technology to reap the benefits of broadband access. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA’s) initial announcement of first-round proposals identified for funding under the DEA’s Competitive Grant Program represents a major milestone toward “Internet for All.”

The benefits of broadband access and adoption are hardly intangible. In the IIJA, Congress itself found that “the persistent ‘digital divide’ in the United States is a barrier to the economic competitiveness of the United States and equitable distribution of essential public services, including healthcare and education.” Just days prior to assuming the presidency, President-elect Donald Trump reiterated the nation’s commitment to universal connectivity in a promise to deliver “affordable and fast internet” to all Americans. Education rates, income levels, health outcomes, and economic strength are all inseparably tied to levels of broadband adoption. A nation with higher connectivity rates sees better economic resilience (especially in the face of disasters), a more competitive workforce, and a pathway to more efficient online government resources.

Broadband adoption even where modern infrastructure is present can lag for a variety of reasons, including cost, lack of the necessary digital devices, low digital literacy skills, or disinterest that may stem from a number of root causes. Congress’s approach in the IIJA correctly paired the deployment-centric Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program with three grant programs under the DEA to address these additional drivers of the digital divide. Two of the DEA programs fund every U.S. state and territory to plan and implement initiatives aimed at improving digital access and adoption beyond deployment. This includes identifying existing (and sometimes overlooked) resources, and crafting a plan to use and improve on them. In conjunction with these state efforts, the third DEA program—the Competitive Grant Program—is directing $1.25 billion to local and on-the-ground organizations to enact specific projects that address barriers to digital opportunity and inclusion. $900 million of that funding has already been guaranteed through an initial round of the program, which received over 700 applications in a powerful showing of the urgent demand for digital inclusion resources across the country.

Already, programs and services across the country offer community-level help signing up to low-cost broadband plans, provide digital skills training, offer technical assistance, and put devices in people’s hands. Digital navigators give communities hands-on support and help them get and stay online. All of these programs and services harness and rely on existing community relationships, trust, and awareness of hyper-local context to see real results. In addition to organizations that focus on digital inclusion, institutions like libraries, schools, and providers of social services can all play an indispensable role in connecting the communities they serve.

All of these existing services, and many nascent ones, stand to be expanded or improved by the Competitive Grant Program. NTIA’s initial announcement identified a handful of applicants that were selected for support. For example:

• In Texas, Denton Independent School District has been earmarked for $9 million in funding for software tools that will help increase connectivity, ensure privacy and data security, and collect better data on how underserved populations access the internet to inform future efforts. The funds will also go toward device distribution programs and digital skills training.
• Virginia’s State Board of Education plans to support its statewide Digital Navigator programs with equipment and training, as well as fund measurement and evaluation of these programs.
• In Indiana, both the cities of Bloomington and South Bend plan to use awarded funding for digital skills training, workforce development, and device provision. South Bend has additional plans to support its own regional Digital Navigator Corps and to establish a regional digital equity fund.
• The City of St. Petersburg, Florida has been selected to receive $6.9 million in funding to address digital literacy gaps, broadband unaffordability, and the need for digital services. Working in collaboration with a number of local partners, its planned projects include device and equipment distribution, digital skills training, and cybersecurity training.
• In New York, Niagara University—also in partnership with a number of community organizations—was recommended for $9.2 million in federal funding for its five-year Niagara Falls Access and Education Project. The project will develop a public computer center and expand access to library services and computer infrastructure for local residents. It will also provide digital training in areas such as digital literacy, online safety, and healthcare access.

From the outset, states have expected to involve local leadership and expertise in the implementation of their digital opportunity strategies. To some degree, every state fostered awareness of and relationships with existing digital inclusion groups in the creation of their state plans. Many outlined definite plans to promote those existing resources. For example:

• Arkansas was explicit in its Digital Skills and Opportunity Plan that it planned to support and help expand existing digital skills and device distribution programs, and that there could be no “one size fits all” approach to digital inclusion in the state. Under NTIA’s first round of suggested grantees, two Arkansas organizations were recommended for funding. El Centro Hispano, which will provide comprehensive services through digital navigators to the Spanish-speaking population it serves, and Life Skills for Youth, which will offer digital support in areas like education and workforce, are together earmarked for around $3 million in funding.
• A major part of Texas’s Digital Opportunity Plan centers around partnering with expert organizations to address various facets of digital inclusion for diverse communities, including the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for support with digital literacy and AgriLife to target rural communities. Indeed, the plan outlines an additional list of organizations Texas’s Broadband Development Office would consider partnering with, should funds (such as, for example, the DEA Competitive Grants) become available—including the Texas Technology Access Program (TTAP), which addresses digital access for people with disabilities and aging populations, and the University of Houston–Downtown’s bilingual e-library, which provides connectivity and workforce preparation in low-income Hispanic communities.
• Louisiana’s 2024 digital opportunity update emphasizes the importance of community institutions, such as libraries, in providing digital skills support and access to the internet.

Nonprofits that work on particular communities in need are also eligible for funding, and many span multiple states. The largest grant described in the initial announcement was offered to the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and its 13 subgrantees, which together span 11 states and over 30,000 people. NDIA proposes to expand and ensure the sustainability of 13 digital navigator programs. The programs will use technology training to meet the needs of their communities through a diverse set of strategies that address issues like workforce readiness, disaster preparedness, social isolation, and access to public assistance and resources. NDIA is also spearheading projects to create sustainable device ecosystems and resource hubs, manage data collection and evaluation, and improve digital navigation services, among other crucial goals.

In addition, Ameelio, Inc.—a tech nonprofit that connects and digitally educates incarcerated people to ease their reintroduction to society and reduce recidivism—was recommended for over $10 million for proposed projects in both Idaho and Utah. Ameelio plans to install and enhance correctional facilities’ networks and to provide tablets, technical support, and assistance developing digital learning criteria.

Our nation must not assume that if we build out broadband, everyone will come. Unleashing the economic, educational, health, and social benefits of universal broadband access requires more than just building the infrastructure. Digital skills training, access to devices, technical support, and assistance from trusted community members are all pre-requisites to achieving widespread U.S. connectivity. Organizations across the country, especially those with local or on-the-ground roots, have achieved incredible success with limited resources to date. The DEA grants are primed to empower states—and some of the most knowledgeable and committed organizations and programs—to address the digital divide from every angle. Once these programs fully kick off, the U.S. digital opportunity agenda will be firmly on the path to success.