The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is now preparing a new Notice of Funding Opportunity for the competitive grant program and intends to start accepting applications in December, the joint status report said. The NDIA could object to the government’s proposed timeline, but is still evaluating it and asked the court for another two weeks to determine whether the sides can reach an “agreement on the path forward and proposed schedule.”
The Digital Equity Act directed the US to establish a Competitive Grant Program to “spur greater adoption of broadband among covered populations.” The law defined eight types of covered populations, including “individuals who are members of a racial or ethnic minority group.”
The racial and ethnic minority category will be eliminated from the program as a result of the judge’s ruling, but the other categories remain. This includes people in low-income households, people who are 60 or older, incarcerated people except those in federal correctional facilities, veterans, people with disabilities, people with language barriers, and people living in rural areas.
NDIA waits for details before seeking new grant
NDIA Executive Director Angela Siefer said it is too early to determine whether her group will apply for a grant when the government starts taking applications. She said the NDIA will need to examine the Notice of Funding Opportunity to be issued by the Trump administration.
Siefer said the NDIA proposal that won a grant from the Biden administration “was carefully crafted” and would have served 30,000 people in rural, urban and tribal communities. “NDIA’s vision is for everyone to have the opportunity to use technology to live, learn, work, and thrive. This is not controversial,” she said.
Siefer also said the government should bring back the state grants even though they weren’t part of the NDIA lawsuit. Plans developed by US states during the Biden administration “are ready to be implemented,” Siefer told Ars.
The Digital Equity Act was approved by Congress at the same time as the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which gives money to states to provide subsidies for Internet providers that deploy broadband in unserved and underserved areas. The Trump administration didn’t scrap BEAD, but it delayed the grants and overhauled the program.
The Trump administration cut spending on broadband deployment to about $21 billion, told states not to require low prices or compliance with net neutrality rules, and helped Starlink obtain more funding than it originally was going to get. The administration hasn’t revealed what it will do with the other $21 billion yet.