Latest news with #AccessandDeployment
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Trump halts US effort to attain 'digital equity'
By Carey L Biron WASHINGTON: The public library in Bethel, Alaska is the only place for miles around that provides free internet and computer use, and it was planning to lead the community into a new era of online access. The staff of four had been offering popular one-on-one online assistance and was on the cusp of adding more employees to reach more residents. But after President Donald Trump axed a key federal program in early May, those plans seem doomed. The library was part of a tranche of projects approved in January, and the funding would have allowed additional digital experts and the means to stay open evenings and weekends. "We were beyond excited," said Theresa Quiner, director of Bethel's Kuskokwim Consortium Library. Internet access is limited and very expensive, and there are very low rates of digital literacy, she said. "This is a very important and in-demand service, especially for elderly people and people with visual disabilities," Quiner said. In a May 8 social media post, Trump criticized the law that would have funded the expansion - the Digital Equity Act , an unprecedented $2.75 billion law passed under former President Joe Biden - as an unconstitutional "racist ... giveaway." "No more woke handouts based on race!" he wrote. The move comes amid a broad effort by the Trump administration to stamp out diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the government. The following day, notices went out saying funding was immediately terminated. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration did not respond to a request for comment. "If you take away the Digital Equity Act funding, far fewer people will be online," said Gigi Sohn , executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband, which represents community-owned networks. "You do your banking online, pay your speeding tickets online, go to school online. So if you don't have robust, affordable access, you're a second-class citizen." EXPANDING CONNECTIONS About 12% of U.S. residents people lived in households without an internet connection in 2023, according to the NTIA, a slight improvement from the previous year. Lower-income households and people of color are considerably more likely to lack connections, the agency said. The Digital Equity Act and the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program to connect all Americans to high-quality broadband service became law in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The efforts were spurred in part by images of children doing schoolwork at home on computers, said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance , which represents more than 2,000 local groups helping people use the internet. "That was the 'aha moment,'" she said. "The number of organizations and local communities doing this work just exploded." BEAD focused on the physical infrastructure needed for connectivity, and the Digital Equity Act targeted softer barriers of digital skills and knowledge. "Every state now has a digital equity plan, which is amazing. Now that's all a waste - the implementation funds are what got stopped," Siefer said. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance had a grant of more than $25 million canceled, part of which had been aimed at planning how to do its type of work without federal funding. BEAD was paused in March for a review and another effort, the Affordable Connectivity Program that subsidized internet service for 23 million people, ended last year when lawmakers failed to extend it. VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES When Sara Nichols worked in county government a decade ago in western North Carolina, she and colleagues estimated as many as 70% of residents lacked internet connections. That finding spurred efforts to overcome technological and affordability constraints, and she has worked since 2018 to help connect more than 17,000 households as an economic development manager with the Land of Sky Regional Council. The Council is an umbrella group of local governments that see broadband as a key economic development driver. In September, the region was devastated by Hurricane Helene, which tore up the broadband infrastructure, and she handed out some 1,200 computers to stricken residents. "We had to work to get them back online," she said. "If you lost your house or job or business, there's a good chance you lost your computer, too." With resources depleted, the Council's partners were thankful to learn in January that they were approved for a $7.7 million Digital Equity Act grant to help veterans, rural households and seniors. Among the plans was retrofitting a bus into a "computer lab on wheels" to travel the rural area, she said. Now such plans are on hold, and Nichols warns neither local governments nor philanthropy can fill the gap. "We feel really vulnerable right now," she said. "Local organizations have lost a lot, and this would have been an opportunity to feel like we could get back on the right track."
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nebraska worries raised about funding for rural broadband expansion
Wider rural broadband deployment remains a long-term goal in Nebraska. (Getty Images) LINCOLN — Nerves are fraying among those seeking to expand broadband service across Nebraska due to funding uncertainty caused by recent actions by the Trump Administration and the Legislature. However, a state official said he isn't worried that the largest program, the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, enacted by the Biden Administration to bring high-speed 'internet for all,' would be impacted. Patrick Haggerty, director of the Nebraska Broadband Office, said Wednesday that his office continues to take applications for the first-round of BEAD grants while it awaits 'new guidance' on the distribution of those funds. Despite the cancellation Friday of a $1.25 billion 'digital equity' training program by the Trump Administration, Haggerty said he has seen 'no indication' that the $405 million in BEAD deployment funds sent to Nebraska is going away. 'Getting universal broadband across Nebraska is not at risk in any way,' he told the Examiner. On Friday, states were informed that the $1.25 billion Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program was being cancelled after President Trump labeled the program 'racist and illegal' and unconstitutional. 'No more woke handouts based on race!' Trump posted on his Truth Social account. States were told that the program used 'impermissible and unconstitutional racial preferences,' according to the news site Broadband Breakfast, which reported that at least one state, Vermont, was weighing whether to legally challenge the cancellation. In a statement last week, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., called it 'absolutely insane' that Trump had cancelled a program because it included the word 'equity.' She said she had drafted the equity program to 'close the digital divide' by helping seniors access the internet and providing laptops for 'middle schoolers in rural districts.' The Trump edict eliminates $6.5 million in grants for Nebraska that were intended for nonprofit groups to train and educate people on how to better utilize high-speed internet services and even how to repair computers. The program targeted eight 'covered populations,' including veterans, the elderly, those living in rural areas and members of racial or ethnic minorities. But additional worries have been spawned by the Nebraska Legislature's efforts to close a state budget shortfall. On Tuesday, the Nebraska Public Service Commission ordered that the $20 million-a-year Nebraska Broadband Bridge Act be 'held in abeyance' due to the expectation that the funds, which provide incentives for companies to expand high-speed internet into remote areas, will be diverted by the Legislature to help close the state budget gap. However, BEAD remains the bigger worry among some involved in broadband deployment, that it might be cut back or eliminated as part of Trump Administration efforts to reduce 'fraud, waste and abuse.' There's been speculation online and by the Wall Street Journal that the BEAD program could undergo dramatic changes by shifting up to $20 billion of the grant funds to the StarLink satellite internet service tied to the world's richest man, Elon Musk. Haggerty, the Nebraska broadband czar, said despite the funding uncertainty, 'we're not going to let that slow us down.' The deadline for the first round of grants is Friday. He declined to speculate on when the first grants would be distributed. He added that the state's BEAD funding should be enough to provide broadband to the state's unserved and underserved areas despite the suspension of the Broadband Bridge program. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration poised to ‘strand rural America with worse internet' to help Musk, official warns
Small town USA is facing a 'significant risk' that the Trump administration is going to abandon key elements of a $42.45bn Biden-era plan to connect rural communities to high-speed internet so that Elon Musk can get even richer, a top departing commerce department official warned in an email. Evan Feinman, who headed up the so-called Bead program for the last three years, urged governors across the country to lobby their congressional delations in Washington to stop the Trump administration from implementing plans he said could have 'deeply negative outcomes' for American homes and businesses. 'Stranding all or part of rural America with worse internet so that we can make the world's richest man even richer is yet another in a long line of betrayals by Washington,' Feinman said. A copy of the email, which was first reported by Politico, was seen by the Guardian. The Bead program, which stands for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment, was passed with bipartisan support in 2021 and aimed to connect tens of millions of underserved homes and communities in rural America to high speed internet. In administering the program, the Biden administration called on states to favor a certain kind of broadband technology – fiber – because it provides reliable and affordable service to consumers. Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, has said he wants to re-evaluate the Bead program and make it technology 'neutral'. That change is likely to favor Elon Musk's company, Starlink, which owns about 62% of all operating satellites. It would be far less expensive for communities to be connected to high speed internet service through satellites, but most experts agree the service would not be as fast or reliable as fiber, and would cost consumers more. The buildout of fiber networks across rural communities was also expected to create tens of thousands of jobs. Some investments – like the creation of AI data centers – are also reliant on states having fiber connections. Musk himself as expressed disdain for the Bead program, once telling voters before November's election that he thought the program should be brought down to 'zero'. While the program has also been criticized by some Republican legislators for being too bureaucratic, it has been widely seen as a boon for rural states. But Lutnick's call for a review of the program has left states 'in limbo', Feinman said. In particular three states – Louisiana, Delaware, and Nevada – have already had their statewide plans to spend billions of dollars in Bead funding approved, but are now waiting for the federal government to release the funds. 'Shovels could already be in the ground' in those three states, Feinman said, were it not for the Trump administration's delays. But Feinman suggested it was not too late for US states to lobby the administration to tweak the program – like abandoning labor and wage-related provisions – but leave the most significant aspects of it unchanged. He said in his letter that the administration had not yet made decisions about whether states had to scrap plans they have for the buildout of fiber optic networks in their states and start fresh, or whether they would be allowed to proceed. 'Reach out to your congressional delegation and reach out to the Trump administration and tell them to strip out the needless requirements, but not to strip away from states the flexibility to get the best connections for their people,' Feinman wrote. The commerce department did not respond to a request for comment. Starlink has not commented on the possible change to the Bead program. Do you have a tip? Please contact or on Signal at 646-886-8761.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration poised to ‘strand rural America with worse internet' to help Musk, official warns
Small town USA is facing a 'significant risk' that the Trump administration is going to abandon key elements of a $42.45bn Biden-era plan to connect rural communities to high-speed internet so that Elon Musk can get even richer, a top departing commerce department official warned in an email. Evan Feinman, who headed up the so-called Bead program for the last three years, urged governors across the country to lobby their congressional delations in Washington to stop the Trump administration from implementing plans he said could have 'deeply negative outcomes' for American homes and businesses. 'Stranding all or part of rural America with worse internet so that we can make the world's richest man even richer is yet another in a long line of betrayals by Washington,' Feinman said. A copy of the email, which was first reported by Politico, was seen by the Guardian. The Bead program, which stands for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment, was passed with bipartisan support in 2021 and aimed to connect tens of millions of underserved homes and communities in rural America to high speed internet. In administering the program, the Biden administration called on states to favor a certain kind of broadband technology – fiber – because it provides reliable and affordable service to consumers. Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, has said he wants to re-evaluate the Bead program and make it technology 'neutral'. That change is likely to favor Elon Musk's company, Starlink, which owns about 62% of all operating satellites. It would be far less expensive for communities to be connected to high speed internet service through satellites, but most experts agree the service would not be as fast or reliable as fiber, and would cost consumers more. The buildout of fiber networks across rural communities was also expected to create tens of thousands of jobs. Some investments – like the creation of AI data centers – are also reliant on states having fiber connections. Musk himself as expressed disdain for the Bead program, once telling voters before November's election that he thought the program should be brought down to 'zero'. While the program has also been criticized by some Republican legislators for being too bureaucratic, it has been widely seen as a boon for rural states. But Lutnick's call for a review of the program has left states 'in limbo', Feinman said. In particular three states – Louisiana, Delaware, and Nevada – have already had their statewide plans to spend billions of dollars in Bead funding approved, but are now waiting for the federal government to release the funds. 'Shovels could already be in the ground' in those three states, Feinman said, were it not for the Trump administration's delays. But Feinman suggested it was not too late for US states to lobby the administration to tweak the program – like abandoning labor and wage-related provisions – but leave the most significant aspects of it unchanged. He said in his letter that the administration had not yet made decisions about whether states had to scrap plans they have for the buildout of fiber optic networks in their states and start fresh, or whether they would be allowed to proceed. 'Reach out to your congressional delegation and reach out to the Trump administration and tell them to strip out the needless requirements, but not to strip away from states the flexibility to get the best connections for their people,' Feinman wrote. The commerce department did not respond to a request for comment. Starlink has not commented on the possible change to the Bead program. Do you have a tip? Please contact or on Signal at 646-886-8761.
The Guardian
17-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Trump administration poised to ‘strand rural America with worse internet' to help Musk, official warns
Small town USA is facing a 'significant risk' that the Trump administration is going to abandon key elements of a $42.45bn Biden-era plan to connect rural communities to high-speed internet so that Elon Musk can get even richer, a top departing commerce department official warned in an email. Evan Feinman, who headed up the so-called Bead program for the last three years, urged governors across the country to lobby their congressional delations in Washington to stop the Trump administration from implementing plans he said could have 'deeply negative outcomes' for American homes and businesses. 'Stranding all or part of rural America with worse internet so that we can make the world's richest man even richer is yet another in a long line of betrayals by Washington,' Feinman said. A copy of the email, which was first reported by Politico, was seen by the Guardian. The Bead program, which stands for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment, was passed with bipartisan support in 2021 and aimed to connect tens of millions of underserved homes and communities in rural America to high speed internet. In administering the program, the Biden administration called on states to favor a certain kind of broadband technology – fiber – because it provides reliable and affordable service to consumers. Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, has said he wants to re-evaluate the Bead program and make it technology 'neutral'. That change is likely to favor Elon Musk's company, Starlink, which owns about 62% of all operating satellites. It would be far less expensive for communities to be connected to high speed internet service through satellites, but most experts agree the service would not be as fast or reliable as fiber, and would cost consumers more. The buildout of fiber networks across rural communities was also expected to create tens of thousands of jobs. Some investments – like the creation of AI data centers – are also reliant on states having fiber connections. Musk himself as expressed disdain for the Bead program, once telling voters before November's election that he thought the program should be brought down to 'zero'. While the program has also been criticized by some Republican legislators for being too bureaucratic, it has been widely seen as a boon for rural states. But Lutnick's call for a review of the program has left states 'in limbo', Feinman said. In particular three states – Louisiana, Delaware, and Nevada – have already had their statewide plans to spend billions of dollars in Bead funding approved, but are now waiting for the federal government to release the funds. 'Shovels could already be in the ground' in those three states, Feinman said, were it not for the Trump administration's delays. But Feinman suggested it was not too late for US states to lobby the administration to tweak the program – like abandoning labor and wage-related provisions – but leave the most significant aspects of it unchanged. He said in his letter that the administration had not yet made decisions about whether states had to scrap plans they have for the buildout of fiber optic networks in their states and start fresh, or whether they would be allowed to proceed. 'Reach out to your congressional delegation and reach out to the Trump administration and tell them to strip out the needless requirements, but not to strip away from states the flexibility to get the best connections for their people,' Feinman wrote. The commerce department did not respond to a request for comment. Starlink has not commented on the possible change to the Bead program. Do you have a tip? Please contact or on Signal at 646-886-8761.
