Latest news with #DigitalEquityAct
CNET
2 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Many Black Colleges Lack Adequate Internet Access. One Group Is Trying to Change That
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack, president of Claflin University, received an email from a student who had left campus and returned home to quarantine. The student wrote: 'It is my prayer that Claflin's passion for education aligns with its compassion.' 'I am currently typing my senior research paper at the local McDonald's that I drive to nine miles every day to do this work because my town doesn't have Wi-Fi bandwidth,' the student wrote. She said she would sit in the parking lot for four hours daily to work on her senior thesis. Shortly after receiving this email, Claflin University partnered with the Student Freedom Initiative to help provide students with broadband access. Broadband programs aimed at closing the digital divide in the US are currently in retreat but according to a 2021 McKinsey report, the 82% of Historically Black Colleges and Universities situated in broadband deserts aren't going anywhere. Broadband deserts are areas that either severely lack access to adequate or have no internet. Locating local internet providers In May, President Donald Trump announced the termination of the Digital Equity Act (DEA), calling it 'racist' and 'unconstitutional.' This $2.75 billion program was part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law from 2021. It was established to help close the digital divide by increasing broadband adoption. This program was also essential to funding digital literacy initiatives for public schools and colleges, with some states and local governments already beginning to receive grant rewards. With the untimely end of the DEA, those funds never reached their destination. In 2020, students at Claflin University and the surrounding areas in Orangeburg, South Carolina, struggled with inadequate internet access because they lived in a broadband desert. 'The only way for students to actually get access to content was to come together in areas that provided [broadband] access, which created a problem,' said Keith Shoates, the president and CEO of the Student Freedom Initiative. He highlighted that at a time when students were supposed to be in quarantine, they were forced to come out of isolation and put themselves and their peers at risk, just to do their schoolwork. The Student Freedom Initiative is a nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the wealth gap through education. In 2023, SFI partnered with technology company Cisco, providing 5G internet service across campus. While the Orangeburg community still faces challenges from being in a broadband desert, Claflin University has since transformed its broadband desert into a thriving space for students. A long history of HBCUs in broadband deserts Access to an adequate internet connection equips students to do better in the classroom and beyond. But many HBCUs are in broadband deserts. These broadband deserts are located primarily in the Black Rural South of the US. According to a report from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the Black Rural South consists of more than 152 counties in 10 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. This information pretty much matches data from the Student Freedom Initiative. As seen from the map above, the Student Freedom Initiative currently works with more than 25 HBCUs in broadband deserts, all located along the Black Rural South in the US. These include Tuskegee University, Florida A&M University, Xavier University of Louisiana and Hampton University. Knowing the history of HBCUs helps one better understand these broadband deserts and how they exist. HBCUs are among the most underfunded institutions in the country, because of the effects of historical and present-day systemic racism and practices like digital redlining. The term redlining dates back to the New Deal era in the 1930s when banks denied residents from 'at-risk' neighborhoods, predominantly from Black communities, to qualify for loans. During this era, government agencies created color-coded maps, highlighting which neighborhoods are least to most risky in terms of loan-worthiness. Digital redlining is a discriminatory practice that involves internet providers excluding their services in certain locations. If you take a look at a map, you can see the distinction between areas with broadband and those without. According to data from the US Census Bureau (PDF), residents in urban areas were more likely than those in rural areas to have broadband internet subscriptions. Moreover, more than 90% of households in the urban south had broadband access in 2021, versus 85% in the rural south. For example, Mississippi, New Mexico and West Virginia ranked the lowest in broadband access. US Census Bureau Although redlining has been illegal for quite some time, a form of digital redlining still exists, as seen by the lack of competition among internet providers in the Black Rural South. HBCUs are located in areas with inadequate broadband infrastructure and it doesn't help that these institutions are severely underfunded by at least $12 million in more than 15 states. According to a Brookings Metro report (PDF), 'HBCUs are chronically underfunded due to state underinvestment, lower alumni contributions (related to lower Black incomes and Black wealth), and lower endowments.' Plenty of studies have shown that low-income communities often lack access to adequate home broadband connections. The McKinsey report noted earlier also shows that more than 81% of HBCUs are in counties where the median wage is below the national average and, compared to non-HBCUs, are in areas where the projected job growth is below the national average. Why does this matter? Improving broadband infrastructure would not just benefit HBCUs or the millions of disconnected Americans in rural communities but could help the US economy at large. Broadband access for HBCUs could mobilize the economy There seems to be a wave of uncertainty regarding the country's current state of broadband programs. The Affordable Connectivity Program ended in May 2024, leaving more than 23 million households without access to affordable home internet and, with the recent news about the Digital Equity Act, disconnected Americans may rely on federal funds primarily from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. But states have run into delays in receiving those funds because of bureaucratic changes. Additionally, there could be further holdups in light of potential changes to the program from the new administration. According to some estimates, most states may not hear back on a timeline until June or July. Shoates emphasized SFI's commitment to helping students, regardless of where federal broadband programs stand in this country. 'We're still moving forward because the problem still exists,' Shoates said. He emphasized the significance of moving forward with non-federal sources to address the broadband gap for students. In addition to their partnership with Cisco in deploying 5G internet hotspots for Claflin University, SFI also connects these HBCUs to high-net-worth individuals, organizations and other philanthropists in their network. One of their first notable partnerships was with Robert F. Smith, a philanthropist and the CEO of Vista Equity Partners. The Student Freedom Initiative was founded after Smith gave nearly $34 million to the graduating class of Morehouse College in 2019, paying off their student loans. Smith currently serves as SFI's chairman. Without the federal backbone support, nonprofit groups such as SFI will work with state legislatures and their corporate partners to keep the wheels moving. Still, eliminating or stalling federal funding from this equation will slow the reduction of the broadband gap. Warmack, Claflin's president, conveyed that federal broadband funding can really help, especially for severely underfunded institutions such as HBCUs. For example, Claflin University received a $2.9 million grant from the Connecting Minority Community Project through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which helped provide wireless internet on campus and in the surrounding areas. Shoates maintains that investing in HBCUs and improving their broadband infrastructure could potentially increase economic activity by half a trillion dollars, which would be reflected in the country's GDP. McKinsey According to data from McKinsey, a strong HBCU network could increase Black worker incomes by about $10 million, contribute at least $1.2 billion in incremental business profit, reduce student loan debt by $300 million and provide $1 billion in additional consumer expenditures. Broadband access and future student outcomes Yvette Thomas, SFI's program director of Institutional Transformation, said that HBCUs face persisting challenges because of the lack of high-speed broadband and the digital gap, which restricts students from accessing resources and online professional opportunities. Thomas spearheads the execution of HBCU capacity building, including modernizing the Information Technology infrastructure. 'When kids come to college, they usually come with at least five to six devices for the network and it slows the network down, ' Thomas said. Without access to a high-speed internet connection, students can fall behind in the digital landscape, especially in the new era of artificial intelligence. 'There's gonna be this 26-mile marathon and they're gonna be on mile two … and that puts them at a competitive disadvantage,' Shoates said. He added that broadband access is imperative to students as it equips them with the proper digital literacy skills they need in the workforce. Claflin University has since transformed its broadband desert into a space that provides 5G internet for students but what about the other 82% of HBCUs still living in these internet deserts? Who's to say that there aren't others with similar experiences to that Claflin student driving to a McDonald's parking lot for Wi-Fi just to complete work? Without the federal backbone support, the work of SFI, its corporate partners and generous donations from philanthropists are vital to help reduce the broadband gap in the meantime.
Time of India
2 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."
Gulf Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Keyed in?
I typed this on my phone and sent it by email and will enthusiastically Google to see if it gets published and I did this because I know how to use the technology but many don't and now they won't have the opportunity to learn. The younger people are digital natives, able to do everything online but unable to get off their devices. Older people like me might have learnt at some time although I never had the opportunity to touch a computer until I went to university. That 'Tandy TRS-80 Model I' wouldn't be of much use now! It is unfair if people are prevented from now learning how to use them but President Trump had ended the Digital Equity Act, calling it 'racist' and 'illegal'. It would be racist and illegal to deny people any form of education based upon their race. There may be a racial factor here because there are still inequalities in the opportunities that different people in the US have for so many reasons but that is what should be remedied and this Act was one small contribution. I see no reason why educating people is illegal. This seems to bear some resemblance to the days when slaves were rarely taught to read and write with it even being illegal in some states. Maybe I shouldn't read the papers or online newspapers as it upsets me to see people being denied basic rights by President Trump. Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia
The Star
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
The US Digital Equity Act tried to close the digital divide. Trump calls it racist and acts to end it
PORTLAND, Oregon: One programmeme distributes laptops in rural Iowa. Another helped people get back online after Hurricane Helene washed away computers and phones in western North Carolina. Programmes in Oregon and rural Alabama teach older people, including some who have never touched a computer, how to navigate in an increasingly digital world. It all came crashing down this month when US President Donald Trump – on his own digital platform, Truth Social – announced his intention to end the Digital Equity Act, a federal grant programme meant to help bridge the digital divide. He branded it as "RACIST and ILLEGAL' and said it amounts to "woke handouts based on race'. He said it was an "ILLEGAL US$2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway," though the programme was actually funded with US$2.75bil (RM 11.57bil). The name seemed innocuous enough when the programme was approved by Congress in 2021 as part of a US$65bil (RM273.65bil) investment meant to bring Internet access to every home and business in the United States. The broadband programme itself was a key component of the US$1 trillion (RM4.21 trillion) infrastructure law pushed through by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden. The Digital Equity Act was intended to fill gaps and cover unmet needs that surfaced during the massive broadband rollout. It gave states and tribes flexibility to deliver high-speed Internet access to families that could not afford it, computers to kids who did not have them, telehealth access to older adults in rural areas, and training and job skills to veterans. Whether Trump has the legal authority to end the programme remains unknown. But for now the Republican administration can simply stop spending the money. "I just felt my heart break for what we were finally, finally in this country, going to address, the digital divide," said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, a nonprofit that was awarded – but has not received – a US$25.7mil (RM108.20mil) grant to work with groups across the country to help provide access to technology. "The digital divide is not just physical access to the internet, it is being able to use that to do what you need to do.' The word 'equity' While the name of the programme likely got it targeted – the Trump administration has been aggressively scrubbing the government of programmes that promote diversity, equity or inclusion – the Digital Equity Act was supposed to be broader in scope. Though Trump called it racist, the words "race' or "racial' appear just twice in the law's text: once, alongside "color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability,' in a passage stating that no groups should be excluded from funding, and later, in a list of covered populations, along with older adults, veterans, people with disabilities, English learners, people with low literacy levels and rural Americans. "Digital Equity passed with overwhelming bipartisan support,' said Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the act's chief proponent, in a statement. "And that's because my Republican colleagues have heard the same stories as I have – like kids in rural communities forced to drive to McDonalds parking lots for WiFi to do their homework. "It is insane – absolutely nuts – that Trump is blocking resources to help make sure kids in rural school districts can get hot spots or laptops, all because he doesn't like the word equity!' The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which administers the programme, declined to comment. It's not entirely clear how much of the US$2.75bil (RM 11.57bil) has been awarded, though last March the NTIA announced the allocation of US$811mil (RM3.41bil) to states, territories and tribes. 'More confident' On a recent morning in Portland, Oregon, Brandon Dorn was among those taking a keyboard basics class offered by Free Geek, a nonprofit that provides free courses to help people learn to use computers. The class was offered at a low-income housing building to make it accessible for residents. Dorn and the others were given laptops and shown the different functions of keys: control, shift and caps lock, how to copy and paste. They played a typing game that taught finger and key placement on a color-coded keyboard. Dorn, 63, said the classes helped because "in this day and age, everything has to go through the computer.' He said it helped him feel more confident and less dependent on his children or grandchildren to do things such as making appointments online. "Folks my age, we didn't get this luxury because we were too busy working, raising the family,' he said. "So this is a great way to help us help ourselves.' Juan Muro, Free Geek's executive director, said participants get the tools and skills they need to access things like online banking, job applications, online education programmes and telehealth. He said Trump's move to end funding has put nonprofits such as Free Geek in a precarious position, forcing them to make up the difference through their own fundraising and "beg for money to just provide individuals with essential stuff." Sara Nichols works for the Land of Sky Regional Council, a multicounty planning and development organisation in western North Carolina. On the Friday before Trump's inauguration in January, the organization received notice that it was approved for a grant. But like other groups The Associated Press contacted, it has not seen any money. Land of Sky had spent a lot of resources helping people recover from last year's storms. The award notice, Nichols said, came as "incredible news.' "But between this and the state losing, getting their letters terminated, we feel just like stuck. What are we going to do? How are we going to move forward? How are we going to let our communities continue to fall behind?' Filling unmet needs More than one-fifth of Americans do not have broadband Internet access at home, according to the Pew Research Center. In rural communities, the number jumps to 27%. Beyond giving people access to technology and fast internet, many programmes funded by the Digital Equity Act sought to provide "digital navigators' – human helpers to guide people new to the online world. "In the United States we do not have a consistent source of funding to help individuals get online, understand how to be safe online and how to use that technology to accomplish all the things that are required now as part of life that are online,' said Siefer of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. This includes everything from providing families with Internet hot spots so they can get online at home to helping seniors avoid online scams. "Health, workforce, education, jobs, everything, right?' Siefer said. "This law was going to be the start for the US to figure out this issue. It's a new issue in the big scheme of things, because now technology is no longer a nice-to-have. You have to have the Internet and you have to know how to use the technology just to survive, let alone to thrive today.' Siefer said the word "equity' in the name probably prompted Trump to target the programme for elimination. "But it means that he didn't actually look at what this programme does," she said. "Because who doesn't want grandma to be safe online? Who doesn't want a veteran to be able to talk to their doctor rather than get in a car and drive two hours? Who doesn't want students to be able to do their homework?' – AP
Time of India
7 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
The Digital Equity Act tried to close the digital divide. Trump calls it racist and acts to end it
By Barbara Ortutay and Claire Rush PORTLAND, Oregon: One program distributes laptops in rural Iowa. Another helped people get back online after Hurricane Helene washed away computers and phones in western North Carolina. Programs in Oregon and rural Alabama teach older people, including some who have never touched a computer, how to navigate in an increasingly digital world. It all came crashing down this month when President Donald Trump - on his own digital platform, Truth Social - announced his intention to end the Digital Equity Act , a federal grant program meant to help bridge the digital divide. He branded it as "RACIST and ILLEGAL" and said it amounts to "woke handouts based on race." He said it was an "ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway," though the program was actually funded with $2.75 billion. The name seemed innocuous enough when the program was approved by Congress in 2021 as part of a $65 billion investment meant to bring internet access to every home and business in the United States. The broadband program itself was a key component of the $1 trillion infrastructure law pushed through by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden. The Digital Equity Act was intended to fill gaps and cover unmet needs that surfaced during the massive broadband rollout. It gave states and tribes flexibility to deliver high-speed internet access to families that could not afford it, computers to kids who did not have them, telehealth access to older adults in rural areas, and training and job skills to veterans. Whether Trump has the legal authority to end the program remains unknown. But for now the Republican administration can simply stop spending the money. "I just felt my heart break for what we were finally, finally in this country, going to address, the digital divide," said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, a nonprofit that was awarded - but has not received - a $25.7 million grant to work with groups across the country to help provide access to technology. "The digital divide is not just physical access to the internet, it is being able to use that to do what you need to do." The word 'equity' While the name of the program likely got it targeted - the Trump administration has been aggressively scrubbing the government of programs that promote diversity, equity or inclusion - the Digital Equity Act was supposed to be broader in scope. Though Trump called it racist, the words "race" or "racial" appear just twice in the law's text: once, alongside "color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability," in a passage stating that no groups should be excluded from funding, and later, in a list of covered populations, along with older adults, veterans, people with disabilities, English learners, people with low literacy levels and rural Americans. "Digital Equity passed with overwhelming bipartisan support," said Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the act's chief proponent, in a statement. "And that's because my Republican colleagues have heard the same stories as I have - like kids in rural communities forced to drive to McDonalds parking lots for Wi-Fi to do their homework. "It is insane - absolutely nuts - that Trump is blocking resources to help make sure kids in rural school districts can get hot spots or laptops, all because he doesn't like the word equity!" The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which administers the program, declined to comment. It's not entirely clear how much of the $2.75 billion has been awarded, though last March the NTIA announced the allocation of $811 million to states, territories and tribes. 'More confident' On a recent morning in Portland, Oregon, Brandon Dorn was among those taking a keyboard basics class offered by Free Geek , a nonprofit that provides free courses to help people learn to use computers. The class was offered at a low-income housing building to make it accessible for residents. Dorn and the others were given laptops and shown the different functions of keys: control, shift and caps lock, how to copy and paste. They played a typing game that taught finger and key placement on a color-coded keyboard. Dorn, 63, said the classes helped because "in this day and age, everything has to go through the computer." He said it helped him feel more confident and less dependent on his children or grandchildren to do things such as making appointments online. "Folks my age, we didn't get this luxury beca us e we were too busy working, raising the family," he said. "So this is a great way to help us help ourselves." Juan Muro, Free Geek's executive director, said participants get the tools and skills they need to access things like online banking, job applications, online education programs and telehealth. He said Trump's move to end funding has put nonprofits such as Free Geek in a precarious position, forcing them to make up the difference through their own fundraising and "beg for money to just provide individuals with essential stuff." Sara Nichols works for the Land of Sky Regional Council, a multicounty planning and development organization in western North Carolina. On the Friday before Trump's inauguration in January, the organization received notice that it was approved for a grant. But like other groups The Associated Press contacted, it has not seen any money. Land of Sky had spent a lot of resources helping people recover from last year's storms. The award notice, Nichols said, came as "incredible news." "But between this and the state losing, getting their letters terminated, we feel just like stuck. What are we going to do? How are we going to move forward? How are we going to let our communities continue to fall behind?" Filling unmet needs More than one-fifth of Americans do not have broadband internet access at home, according to the Pew Research Center. In rural communities, the number jumps to 27 percent. Beyond giving people access to technology and fast internet, many programs funded by the Digital Equity Act sought to provide "digital navigators" - human helpers to guide people new to the online world. "In the United States we do not have a consistent source of funding to help individuals get online, understand how to be safe online and how to use that technology to accomplish all the things that are required now as part of life that are online," said Siefer of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. This includes everything from providing families with internet hot spots so they can get online at home to helping seniors avoid online scams. "Health, workforce, education, jobs, everything, right?" Siefer said. "This law was going to be the start for the U.S. to figure out this issue. It's a new issue in the big scheme of things, because now technology is no longer a nice-to-have. You have to have the internet and you have to know how to use the technology just to survive, let alone to thrive today." Siefer said the word "equity" in the name probably prompted Trump to target the program for elimination. "But it means that he didn't actually look at what this program does," she said. "Because who doesn't want grandma to be safe online? Who doesn't want a veteran to be able to talk to their doctor rather than get in a car and drive two hours? Who doesn't want students to be able to do their homework?"
