- BEAD Funds Are Now Conditional
- New York Invests in Digital Literacy, Accessibility
- Digital Literacy Evolves With AI
- “Dig Once” Strategy and Cost Savings
- New Initiative Supports Seniors’ Digital Skills
BEAD FUNDS ARE NOW CONDITIONAL
An executive order (EO) President Donald Trump signed Dec. 11 enacts limitations on states’ abilities to enact laws regarding AI technology, and the order may result in illegally withholding states’ congressionally approved broadband funding. There has been bipartisan opposition to this move, as the U.S. Congress allocated Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding to states through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
Specifically, the new order relates to non-deployment funds, a key area of the BEAD Program, which has been under review since the program’s rules changed this year. Non-deployment funds are “not optional extras,” according to a recent letter from more than 160 bipartisan state legislators.
“Nowhere did Congress authorize the president to condition those funds on unrelated state policy choices, much less to punish states for exercising their traditional powers to regulate emerging technologies,” Revati Prasad, Benton Institute for Broadband and Society executive director, said in a statement. Prasad argues that this action will have the effect of “punishing” rural communities by denying them the connectivity they need to participate in the AI economy.
Notably, it is Congress that holds “the power of the purse” when it comes to funding and resource allocation.
Written testimony from a member of the U.S. House of Representatives said that leveraging federal funding to get states to abandon the protections they have enacted for AI technology would “set a dangerous precedent,” potentially impacting the nation’s competitiveness.
Prior to the EO, stakeholders have been calling on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to provide more guidance on eligible uses of BEAD non-deployment funds.
On Monday, a group of policymakers from the state of Nebraska, led by U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, wrote a letter to Arielle Roth, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration administrator. The letter calls on NTIA to “allow states to retain BEAD Program funds” in compliance with BIL, requesting clarification that precision agriculture connectivity is an eligible application for BEAD non-deployment funds.
“It is evident that NTIA’s implementation of the BEAD Program violates the letter of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and ignores the intent of Congress,” Energy and Commerce Committee members in the U.S. House of Representatives said in a Nov. 25 letter, which followed early reports of the now-signed EO.
NEW YORK INVESTS IN DIGITAL LITERACY, ACCESSIBILITY
In state-level news, New York’s economic development agency, Empire State Development (ESD), has announced $7.4 million in awards through the ConnectALL Office to expand digital skills training and online safety education to more than 110,000 New York residents. The funding is also intended to support device distribution and health literacy.
The investments will support communities by equipping them with the skills needed to participate in the economy today, ESD President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said in a statement. Knight noted that this funding will sustain digital inclusion work “in the absence of federal funding,” likely referencing the illegal end to Digital Equity Act grant programs.
Other ConnectALL initiatives include the Municipal Infrastructure Program and the ConnectALL Deployment Program.
At the local level, New York City has launched a Digital Learning Resource Hub as the city prepares for new mayoral leadership.
DIGITAL LITERACY EVOLVES WITH AI
A new resource from the nonpartisan nonprofit think tank New America explores the role of AI as “a major core component” in broader work to improve digital literacy.
AI literacy is increasingly being integrated as part of digital skills training efforts, because experts argue that the new technology widens existing digital inequities.
This resource was created by interviewing a range of stakeholders — including community practitioners, researchers and experts from nonprofits — to offer recommendations through which practitioners may expand AI education.
It recommends the creation of a national framework for digital literacy that includes AI. It also recommends sustained investment in professional development that addresses AI for educators. Broadband access gaps should be closed to support equitable access to AI tools. Equity and safety should be centered in the adoption and governance of AI literacy, the resource recommends. Finally, it indicates that there should be investment in research and evaluation to measure progress toward learning goals.
“DIG ONCE” STRATEGY AND COST SAVINGS
A December report from Vanderbilt University’s Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator explores how a “Dig Once” strategy can help reduce the costs of high-speed Internet deployment. The idea is that when a government digs up a road for any reason, whether that be construction or maintenance, it should also install infrastructure that is capable of housing fiber-optic cables for broadband.
The report argues that fiber-optic cables are the technology most capable of supporting high-speed Internet, and currently they only pass half of U.S. homes.
The document notes that the Dig Once strategy has been supported by the last three presidential administrations; private companies; the U.S. National Broadband Plan; hundreds of federal, state and local lawmakers from both parties; and others.
The current administration is under-emphasizing fiber, and as such, many are calling for increased federal funding like a second iteration of the BEAD Program, the report details. If another broadband subsidy program were created, it concludes, smart policies including Dig Once could be a tool to help ensure any future federal investments do not fail to provide universal and affordable broadband.
NEW INITIATIVE SUPPORTS SENIORS’ DIGITAL SKILLS
A partnership between the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and AT&T enables digital skills training support for older adults.
The program is now in its second year, and it includes education about technology basics and Internet safety. Through it, 50 senior centers will be able to offer in-person workshops and one-on-one support.
“Everyone deserves to make the most of the online world — from communicating with friends and family to ordering groceries to talking with doctors,” NCOA President and CEO Ramsey Alwin said in a statement.
The senior centers supported by this program are located across the country in states including Alabama, Colorado, Florida, New York, Ohio, and Texas.
