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.

From the demise of the Affordable Connectivity Program and the sudden termination of the Digital Equity Act to the drastic revamping of the BEAD Internet infrastructure program and the myriad ways trust in governmental institutions has been eroded, digital inclusion advocates will not want to miss the next Building for Digital Equity (B4DE) livestream.

Slated for October 1 at 3 pm EST, the next B4DE virtual gathering will speak to the moment by focusing on a fundamental formula Internet access warriors cannot afford to overlook as they face down the forces actively working to undermine efforts to bridge the digital divide.

Co-hosted by ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), the next B4DE will spotlight local strategies for digital equity and explore why it’s necessary for frontline digital inclusion practitioners to be “Moving at the Speed of Trust.”

Register for the free event here.

If you missed our Building for Digital Equity “Wired for Freedom” Livestream, you can watch it in its entirety on YouTube.

Earlier this week, the second UTOPIA Fiber-sponsored event of the year, hosted in partnership with the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), brought together community-based digital inclusion practitioners and policy experts to talk about the road ahead for expanding broadband access amid a rapidly shifting political landscape.

After a blues-infused beginning with Sky Downing of digitalLIFT, NDIA’s policy director Amy Huffman provided attendees with an update on the long court battle over the constitutionality of the FCC’s Universal Services Fund.

The recent Supreme Court ruling, Huffman explained, ruled that the program – which supports connectivity for rural communities, schools, and libraries – was indeed constitutional. In what Huffman described as “good news,” she also said it would give Congress a chance to reform USF without having to do so as “a ticking time,” giving lawmakers and advocates a chance to “put together a thoughtful framework and path forward to ensure that the fund not only continues but is modernized.”

In the lightning round presentations, Sara Nichols from the Land of Sky Regional Council in western North Carolina spoke of the work her planning agency has been involved with working toward building resilient connectivity in the wake of Hurricane Helene followed by Kaala Souza, executive director of Digital Ready Hawaii, who discussed how digital literacy was rooted in the local culture’s emphasis on literacy dating that dates back before the dawn of the computer age.

On Tuesday, July 1, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and National Digital Inclusion Alliance will present the next Building For Digital Equity event - Wired For Freedom: Digital Access and the American Dream. It will run from 3:00 - 4:15 ET.

Register for the free event here.

Once again, we thank UTOPIA Fiber for their sponsorship in making these events happen.

We will kick off the event with co-hosts Christopher Mitchell from ILSR and NDIA's Gina Cooper. Skye Downing will set our tone with a song, to be followed by Amy Huffman updating everyone on the latest news relating to the Trump Administration's efforts to cancel the Digital Equity Act.

This B4DE will again feature the Lightning Round speakers that will offer short presentations - Ka'ala Souza from Digital Ready Hawaii and Sarah Nichols from Land of Sky.

Monica Gonzalez from Methodist Healthcare Ministries will be sharing information about their work in South Texas.

The big finish will be moderated by ILSR's Sean Gonsalves - featuring Tony Batalla, CIO for the city of Oakland; Alisa Valentin from Public Knowledge; Autumn Evans of the Rocket Community Fund; and Patrick Messac from Oakland Undivided.

As always, we would love to see you commenting and asking questions in the chat to help us keep it real!  

The livestream will be available (and later archived) on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn with live viewer questions answered by the invited speakers and presenters, which is still being finalized.

We will also be live posting from the Community Broadband Networks Bluesky page.

Never seen a Building for Digital Equity event before? Check out our last one below, where we were joined by Revati Prasad (Benton Institute for Broadband and Society), Virginia Benzan (Massachusetts Law Reform Institute), and Alisa Valentin (Public Knowledge) and talked about adapting to a shifting policy landscape in the midst of much confusion and change.

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.

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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.

As digital inclusion advocates look to get their bearings amid an all-out assault on federal broadband funding programs, the next Building For Digital Equity livestream offers a port in the storm.

Slated for March 13 from 3 to 4:15 pm ET – and once again co-hosted by ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) – the keynote speaker for the UTOPIA Fiber sponsored event will be Revati Prasad, Vice President of Programs with the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

“Charting the Course: Adapting to Policy Shifts While Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize” promises to bring hundreds of digital inclusion practitioners together to regroup and recalibrate while hearing from those working in the trenches to adequately address broadband access challenges across the nation.

Registration for the increasingly popular live stream is now open here.

Prasad will focus on Benton’s recently published report: “The Human Infrastructure of Broadband: Looking Back, Looking Around, and Looking Ahead.”

With uncertainty swirling around the future of BEAD and Digital Equity Act programs in the wake of an Executive Order by the Trump administration freezing federal funding and loan programs, the next Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) live stream is shaping up to be perhaps the most monumental one to date.

“Charting the Course: Adapting to Policy Shifts While Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize” promises to bring hundreds of digital inclusion practitioners together for the increasingly popular virtual gathering that aims to offer insights and ground-truth on how communities continue to their work in closing the digital divide at a time when the programs established to do so have been tossed into disarray.

Registration is now open here.

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Slated for March 13 from 3 to 4:15 pm ET, the upcoming live stream will once again be co-hosted by ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and sponsored by UTOPIA Fiber.

Digital inclusion advocates are bracing themselves for an uncertain year ahead.

As the incoming GOP regime takes aim at key aspects of the Digital Equity Act (DEA) and the BEAD (Broadband, Equity, Access, And Deployment) program, those working to bridge the digital divide have more questions than answers just as states are preparing to dole out federal grant money yet to be awarded to grant recipients.

One major question looming over both BEAD and the Digital Equity Act is whether a new Congress can leverage the Congressional Review Act – a tool Congress can use to overturn certain federal agency actions – to undermine the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law behind the national “Internet For All” initiative.

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“The Congressional Review Act only applies to things that were adopted in the last six months. I know that there were a number of things the FCC did to make sure that they were done and would be non-reviewable under the CRA and I suspect NTIA did that as well (with BEAD),” former FCC Chief of Staff and now New Street Research policy advisor Blair Levin said during our final Building For Digital Equity (B4DE) livestream of 2024.

In the wake of the election, and with potential major changes ahead for the national "Internet For All" effort, many in the broadband world are wondering: where do we go from here?

That's what the next Building For Digital Equity (#B4DE) livestream event seeks to answer, inviting you to wear your ugly sweater, join the free virtual gathering, and dive into what a post-Biden administration broadband world may look like.

Slated for December 16, 2024 from 3 to 4:15 PM ET, the "Reflect, Recharge, Reach Forward" themed livestream promises to offer penetrating insights and practical ideas on the way forward.

Registration is now open here.

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Co-hosted by Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), the popular (and free) online event will feature two prominent figures in this space: NDIA Executive Director Angela Siefer and New Street Research Policy Advisor Blair Levin.

As Digital Inclusion Week 2024 swings into action, frontline digital inclusion practitioners from across the nation will come together for a timely Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) livestream event today that focuses on “Coalition Building for Success.”

The popular (and free) virtual gathering – co-hosted by Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) – will go live today from 3 to 4:15 PM ET.

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For Digital equity advocates or interested guests who have yet register for the event, there is still time to register here.

The third #B4DE of the year will delve into how coalitions are finding success in pushing the digital equity movement forward as Digital Equity Act grant programs are being established.

The keynote speaker for today’s livestream will be Georgia Savage, Deputy Director of #OaklandUndivided, who helped lead the way in securing $38.5 million in grant funding that will expand broadband infrastructure and distribute Internet-connected devices to thousands of low-income households across East and West Oakland, California.