Close to a 1,000 broadband-minded registrants attended yesterday’s listening session on how to spend an estimated $21 billion in “non-deployment” funds states should have at their disposal from the federal BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment) program.

Hosted by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA), the Commerce Department agency administering the program, the online listening session featured about 50 selected speakers. Most of those who spoke advocated using the money to tackle the array of non-infrastructure barriers to expand broadband (affordability, device distribution, and digital skills programs) – made all the more urgent in light of the Trump administration’s sudden “termination” of the Digital Equity Act last year.

Though it runs counter to the bipartisan infrastructure law that established the program, a handful of speakers actually suggested the funds simply be returned to the U.S. Treasury, presumably to “save taxpayer dollars.”

One speaker even tried to make the case that money Congress explicitly intended to address the nation’s massive digital divide should instead be given to Air Traffic Controllers.

The Trump administration's illegal “termination” of the 2021 Digital Equity Act continues to have devastating real world impacts on everything from affordable broadband access to protecting Americans from skyrocketing online scams.

The $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act was passed by Congress as part of the 2021 infrastructure law. It mandated the creation of three different major grant programs intended to shore up equitable, widespread access to affordable Internet, while providing the tools and digital literacy education needed to help neglected U.S. communities get online.

But last May the Trump administration unceremoniously demolished the Act, froze all program funding, and left countless states, programs and organizations – many on the cusp of major new efforts – high and dry.

At the time, President Trump and GOP leaders like Sen. Ted Cruz disingenuously attacked the Act’s programs as “racist” and "unconstitutional,” – part of a broader effort to dismantle programs deemed as “DEI,” even in instances where the programs had little to nothing to do with race or gender. Many of the “covered populations” covered by the bill included rural residents, veterans, and elderly Americans from all walks of life.

Funding Freeze Puts Most Vulnerable Americans at Risk

The sudden "termination" of the popular law resulted in dozens of states having to abruptly cancel major broadband expansion plans. But the freeze has also been a massive problem for state programs that were taking aim at a U.S. online fraud epidemic proving particularly harmful to the U.S. elderly and marginalized communities.

Yesterday, the third Building for Digital Equity livestream of the year brought together policy experts and frontline workers to explore how community-driven connectivity solutions are inextricably tied to building local trust.

If you missed it, the entirety of the hour and 15 minute event can be viewed here.

Hosted by ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), this week’s B4DE served as an unofficial kick-off to Digital Inclusion Week and the variety of events that will mark the occasion in communities across the country.

With each B4DE guest focused on various aspects of the theme, “Moving At The Speed Of Trust,” the event provided attendees a jolt of hope and optimism, even as the world of digital equity has been upended by the demise of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, the sudden termination of the Digital Equity Act, and numerous other Trump administration policy shifts that will make it harder to bridge the digital divide.

As states struggle to readjust their plans to expand high-speed Internet access in the wake of the Trump administration “termination” of the Digital Equity Act, Vermont is working to address the multi-million dollar shortfall by aligning the state’s Digital Empowerment initiative with its newly established Affordable Long Drop Program.

The Affordable Long Drop Program was established to provide grants to eligible Internet service providers (ISPs) in order to cover the connection costs for Vermonters whose homes are beyond standard drop distances.

Typically, an ISP will pay for a standard drop, which is the final external link that connects a provider's distribution network to the end-user's location – a distance that most often spans a couple hundred feet or less.

In rural areas around the country, community-minded operators like telephone and electric cooperatives will often cover the first quarter of a mile. This has also been the case in Vermont, where many of the state’s Communications Union Districts (CUDs) have been footing the bill to cover as much as the first 2,000 feet of drop distance. But, as with any predominantly rural state, there are a number of homes located just beyond that 2,000 foot range.

The construction costs of extending fiber lines can get pricey the further the home is away from the main fiber routes. Vermont’s Affordable Long Drop Program aims to help pay for the drops costs of the last mile networks that are currently being built across the state to help ensure residents in harder-to-reach locations can still get Internet access.

California lawmakers’ efforts to pass a new law mandating affordable broadband access is at risk of being destroyed by industry lobbying. California insiders say the changes are so dramatic they may wind up making broadband affordability in the state worse – undermining years of digital equity activism and discarding a rare opportunity to bridge the digital divide.

The California Affordable Home Internet Act (AB 353), introduced by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner last January, would require that broadband providers in the state provide broadband at no more than $15 per month for low-income households participating in a qualified public assistance program.

The original legislation mandated that state residents should be able to receive $15 for all ISPs for broadband at speeds of 100 megabit per second (Mbps) downstream, 20 Mbps upstream. The proposal mirrored similar efforts by New York State which opened the door to other state efforts after the Supreme Court recently refused to hear a telecom industry challenge.

Image

“I want to get something fair and reasonable that helps those who need it most,” Boerner said in a press release. “AB 353 will fill the gap and ensure our children can turn in their homework, families can get access to telehealth, and apply for jobs online.”

On June 4 a vote moved the legislation through the state Assembly and on to the state senate by a 52-17 margin.

Maine Connectivity Authority President Andrew Butcher has his 1984 yellow Volkswagen van – affectionately known as “Buttercup” – all gassed up and ready to barnstorm across Maine this week.

Butcher and his team will visit libraries, community centers, town halls, Tribal governments, connectivity hubs, and telehealth locations all across the Pine Street State as state broadband officials and local connectivity champions celebrate the broadband expansion work that’s already been done and to gather “local insights (for) the next phase of work.”

The five-day “Driving Connections” tour will highlight broadband infrastructure investments the state has made to bring high-speed Internet access to 86,000 homes and businesses over the past several years.

Image

But, perhaps more crucial to the mission: the tour also aims to rally state leaders and local communities to continue the work, even as the Trump administration “terminated” the Digital Equity Act last month and more recently drastically altered the infrastructure-focused BEAD program – both of which have undermined state’s efforts to expand Internet connectivity and eliminate barriers to broadband adoption.

“It feels like an important time to show how we are connected to each other in more ways than just high-speed Internet connections,” Butcher told ILSR in the days leading up to the tour.

Manacled by the Trump administration “termination” of the Digital Equity Act (DEA), Internet access advocates still in the fight are invited to save the date for the next Building For Digital Equity (#B4DE) livestream.

Days before Independence Day, the virtual gathering – slated for July 1 from 3 to 4:15 pm ET – will be centered around the theme: “Wired for Freedom: Digital Access and the American Dream.”

The agenda is shaping up to offer attendees new battlefield intelligence and how community-centered organizations and coalitions are carrying on in the face of vital funding and programming cuts.

Image

A line up of digital inclusion advocates working to expand broadband access will share practical insights and inspiration for digital navigators and other frontline workers looking to navigate the shifting landscape.

Register for the free event here.

As with the previous #B4DE events, the live stream will once again be sponsored by UTOPIA Fiber and co-hosted by the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA).

Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity to learn, connect, and make a difference as digital equity advocates across the nation chart a new course forward.