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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."
Boston Globe
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
The Digital Equity Act tried to close the digital divide. Trump calls it racist and acts to end it.
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 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. Advertisement Whether Trump has the legal authority to end the program remains unknown. But for now the Republican administration can simply stop spending the money. Advertisement '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.' 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 'Digital Equity passed with overwhelming bipartisan support,' said Democratic Senator 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!' Advertisement 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 On a recent morning in Portland, Ore., 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 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 fund-raising and 'beg for money to just provide individuals with essential stuff.' Advertisement 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?' More than one-fifth of Americans do not have broadband internet access at home, according to the 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 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.' Advertisement 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?'
Epoch Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Trump Scraps Biden's Digital Equity Act, Calling It Illegal
President Donald Trump said on May 8 that he would end the Digital Equity Act as part of his administration's cost-cutting efforts, noting that the funding provided under the Biden-era law was illegal. Trump said he discussed with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and they agreed that the law, which former President Joe Biden In his Truth Social 'The Digital Equity Program is a racist and illegal $2.5 billion dollar giveaway,' he stated. 'I am ending this immediately, and saving Taxpayers billions of dollars!' The Digital Equity Act provided $2.75 billion in funding to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish three grant programs that help to expand high-speed internet service These grant programs include a state digital equity planning grant, digital equity capacity grant, and digital equity competitive grant, according to the NTIA's Related Stories 3/6/2025 2/21/2025 It remains unclear whether the Department of Commerce has taken any steps following Trump's decision. The department did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. The move to eliminate the law has drawn criticism from digital equity advocates. Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, has called on congressional leaders to reject Trump's decision. 'This decision has no policy rationale and makes no economic sense. Cutting this funding will deepen the divide and force greater costs down the road,' Siefer said in a Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who authored the Digital Equity Act in 2019, denounced Trump's move, The Epoch Times reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by publication time. The decision to end the Digital Equity Act comes amid the Trump administration's efforts to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs from federal agencies and government initiatives. Trump stated in a Jan. 20 'The public release of these plans demonstrated immense public waste and shameful discrimination. That ends today,' Trump stated in his order.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A lagging broadband program faces more delays as Trump plans changes
Workers install fiber optic cables for a school in Harrisburg, Pa. The Trump administration is extending the deadline for states to submit their final proposals for a federal broadband program that's still largely in the planning phase after more than three years. () The Trump administration is extending the deadline for states to submit their final proposals for a federal broadband program, further delaying an effort that's still largely in the planning phase after more than three years. States will have an additional 90 days to submit their final plans for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, known as BEAD, a federal grant program meant to expand broadband access to underserved areas across the country. The extension comes as the Trump administration prepares to make changes to the BEAD program, according to a notice from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The department is currently reviewing the program 'to remove unnecessary rules and mandates, to improve efficiency, take a more technology-neutral approach, cut unnecessary red tape, and streamline deployment,' the notice said. The $42.45 billion program, created under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, began falling behind schedule in part because of inadequate federal mapping of where broadband is most needed and a lengthy challenge process to the maps. As a result, the slow-moving program has some local officials and experts questioning its efficiency. Already-lagging broadband program faces more uncertainty under Trump They anticipate that federal officials might change an affordability requirement, which mandates states include a low-cost service option for low-income households, or the type of technologies given preference under the program. That shift likely would be away from fiber-optic internet toward satellites or other technology. Earlier this month, more than 100 state lawmakers from 28 states sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting that any changes to the BEAD program be optional rather than mandatory. They argued that mandatory changes could undo their BEAD plans and delay broadband deployment by a year or more. The BEAD program originally had required states to submit their final proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration within a year of their initial plan's approval. Citing 'extraordinary circumstances,' however — the new federal review — deadlines for states' final proposals will be moved, according to the notice. NTIA declined to comment for this story. All 50 states have had their initial BEAD proposals approved, unlocking a portion — often 20% — of the money the feds will provide. As of April 14, Delaware, Louisiana and Nevada are the only states to have submitted their final proposals for public comment, according to the NTIA's BEAD Progress Dashboard. Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina and Texas are the only states that have not made any progress beyond having their initial proposal approved, according to the tracker. Stateline reporter Madyson Fitzgerald can be reached at mfitzgerald@ SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Gulf Today
09-03-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
Broadband programme faces uncertainty under Trump
A massive federal programme meant to expand broadband access to underserved areas across the country is falling behind schedule, state broadband officials and experts say, even as Trump administration actions create further uncertainty about its funding and rules. Now in its third year, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, known as BEAD, is largely still in the planning phase. In Alpine County, California, the vice chair of the county Board of Supervisors, David Griffith, said he is still waiting to see how BEAD funds will help his area. Out of the county's roughly 1,100 residents, most rely on phone lines to connect to the internet and can't afford high-speed connections. That means instead of renewing their driver's licenses online, for example, many of the county's residents drive 30 miles to the closest department of motor vehicles location, he said. They lack internet speed for telemedicine, banking and tax filing. 'We all want government to work,' Griffith said, 'and unfortunately, the BEAD programme is an example where the need is there and the funding is there, but it's just a very inefficient process.' Congress awarded California $1.8 billion to ensure households get access to high-speed internet as part of the $42.45 billion BEAD programme, created under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. All 50 states have had their initial proposals approved, unlocking a portion — often 20% — of the money the feds will provide. Delaware, Louisiana and Nevada are the only states to have submitted their final proposals. Some local officials and experts are questioning the efficiency of the programme. Progress is slow in part, they say, because of inadequate federal mapping of where broadband is most needed and a lengthy challenge process to the maps. And some experts worry that states are favoring overly expensive infrastructure. Federal and state broadband officials are also waiting to see how President Donald Trump's funding freeze may affect the BEAD programme, as well as how federal officials might change an affordability requirement or the type of technologies given preference under the programme. At his confirmation hearing, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who took office Feb. 19, said he supported the goals of BEAD but wanted to make sure it was done 'efficiently and effectively' and sidestepped questions asking him to commit to sending money out to states. Griffith said he's hopeful the money will still flow, noting that most of BEAD's funds will go to rural areas, many of which tend to elect and support Republicans. Louisiana was the first state to have both its initial and final BEAD proposals approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The state plans to deploy more than $1.35 billion in funding through its GUMBO 2.0 programme. States grant the federal money to internet service providers, local governments, nonprofits and other groups to build out the infrastructure. Shortly after the state's plans were approved in January, Louisiana Republican Gov. Jeff Landry sent a letter to the Commerce Department asking for changes within NTIA and the BEAD programme, including a request to streamline the agency's requirements and a commitment to more timely and transparent funding reviews. NTIA declined to answer Stateline's questions about the BEAD programme. Officials in some states have run into snags with challenges to the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Map. Through the map challenge process, local governments, internet service providers, nonprofits and other groups can help determine whether a particular location actually has internet service. Griffith, the California county supervisor, said the map was originally 'full of errors' in his area. 'We went through it in Alpine County, and about 7-8% of residences and businesses were left off of the National Broadband Map,' he said. 'Unless you're on the National Broadband Map, that money cannot be used to connect your home or business.' The BEAD programme also has an affordability requirement that mandates state broadband officials include a low-cost service option for low-income households. But industry groups have pushed back, calling the rule 'completely unmoored from the economic realities of deploying and operating networks in the highest cost, hardest-to-reach areas.' The BEAD programme has 'moved a little slower than it should have,' said Sachin Gupta, the vice president of business and technologies strategies at Centranet, part of the Central Rural Electric Cooperative in Oklahoma. The group serves households living just outside of Oklahoma City. 'There are people who cannot do remote work, or distance learning, or be part of the digital economy or do telehealth and telemedicine,' he said. 'So, there's real-world consequences.' In August, the feds approved Oklahoma's initial BEAD proposal, allowing the state to request access to over $797 million. The goal is to get households connected to the internet as quickly as possible, but there are going to be some challenges, such as mapping, Gupta said. 'This work has gone on for some time,' Gupta said, 'but if you pull this money back, people are just going to be even more distressed than they were before.' Experts at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a science and technology policy think tank based in Washington, D.C., have argued that the BEAD programme favors overly expensive broadband infrastructure. Fiber-optic internet, which BEAD gives preference to, is considered faster and more reliable than other methods of connection, but other technologies, such as satellites, could be more cost-effective, according to the group. The money saved from using less costly infrastructure could be put toward affordability efforts instead. 'That may be the best kept secret: The reason people aren't online anymore is not about broadband being unavailable,' said Joe Kane, the director of broadband and spectrum policy at the foundation. 'It's that they can't afford it.' In states like Nevada, where officials are planning to spend about $77,000 per business or residential location to deploy fiber, there's not going to be much money left over for affordability efforts, Kane said. It's even more crucial now that the Affordable Connectivity Program, a pandemic-era discount programme for low-income households, has dissolved. 'I think the most important thing for broadband overall is that we should be trying to take a data-focused approach to what are the real causes of the digital divide, and how is our broadband policy meeting that,' Kane said. 'Because right now, we have a complete mismatch.' But Gupta, who has been involved with Oklahoma's broadband expansion for years, said other types of broadband internet cannot provide the same internet speed as fiber. 'If we deploy technologies that are not scalable, then all we're doing is kicking that can down the road another five years.' As consumer prices rise, internet affordability is a significant concern, said Derrick Owens, the senior vice president of government and industry affairs at WTA — Advocates for Rural Broadband. The group represents small, rural telecommunications providers across the country.
