- What Ending the DEA Will Mean
- ConnectALL Grants Announced
- Albuquerque Stops Fiber Installation Following Complaints
- Broadband Legislation Update
- CHIPS Act Funding Announced
WHAT ENDING THE DEA WILL MEAN
Last week, President Donald Trump called for an immediate end to the Digital Equity Act (DEA) in a post on Truth Social. Since then, the DEA webpage has been removed from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration website and grant recipients were notified that funding had been terminated. Trump’s action has spurred notable pushback from the bipartisan initiative’s advocates.
One such advocate is DEA author, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray.
“Needless to say, a president cannot overrule a law — period,” Murray said in a press conference Wednesday. “But that has not stopped this administration from illegally blocking the funding from the Digital Equity Act to all 50 states.”
Aaron Wheeler, director of the Washington State Broadband Office, also addressed the public during the press conference to explain how the loss of this funding will impact cybersecurity programming.
“My team had just awarded our Advanced Cybersecurity Literacy Program grant to begin the state’s efforts to develop a curriculum that would have rolled out across the state to help educate and protect vulnerable individuals who are often targets of online scams,” Wheeler said. “Then we got the federal notice that our grant had been canceled.“
Wheeler said that the state did not expect its digital equity initiatives and related timelines to be impacted under the current administration. However, as he said, things can change rapidly.
During the press conference, National Digital Inclusion Alliance Executive Director Angela Siefer underlined the number of shovel-ready projects impacted, emphasizing that 50 states and six territories are relying on these funds.
The bill, Murray said, was co-led by a Republican, former U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, and was passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. All 50 states submitted plans to receive funding to help bring Internet access to those who need it.
“Not a single Republican governor in 2024 felt the law was unconstitutional then,” Murray said.
Outside of Wednesday’s press conference, other stakeholders continue to speak out.
The State Educational Technology Directors Association, which represents U.S. state and territorial ed-tech leaders, said in a statement that the termination of State Digital Equity Capacity Grant agreements undermines critical efforts already underway.
Alisa Valentin, broadband policy director at Public Knowledge, an organization that promotes open Internet access and works to shape policy, criticized Trump’s DEA claims in a statement.
“The irony is that the weaponization of the word ‘equity’ will halt progress in closing the digital divide and will also severely impact his voter base of white Americans who live in rural areas in red states, including veterans and the elderly,” she said.
An announcement from Maine argued eliminating this funding will disproportionately impact certain groups: older and rural residents, small businesses, veterans, low-income households and students.
It's not just states that will be impacted. Many counties also supported the development of digital equity plans, and some may have been direct recipients of grant opportunities, according to an article from the National Association of Counties.
CONNECTALL GRANTS ANNOUNCED
State-level efforts to connect constituents to the Internet continue. In New York, eight projects have been awarded funding from a pool of $1,594,194 in technical assistance grants through the Regional and Local Assistance Program (RLA) under the ConnectALL initiative.
This is the first round of funding through the RLA. The funding aims to support non-construction activities such as the conduction of feasibility studies, identification of underserved areas, and development of broadband finance strategies. Each grant recipient can receive up to $249,999.
“By funding planning and research at the local and regional level, we’re laying the groundwork for smart, effective investments in broadband infrastructure that will benefit communities,” Empire State Development CEO Hope Knight said in a statement.
ALBUQUERQUE STOPS FIBER INSTALLATION FOLLOWING COMPLAINTS
In local news, the city of Albuquerque, N.M., has halted the construction project led by Ezee Fiber following resident complaints about unsafe and incomplete work. The company received a notification that it was in violation of its agreement with the city due to issues such as unrepaired property damage and work conducted outside of allowed hours.
In response to these issues, the city will be establishing new rules for Internet service providers, restricting how many construction zones they can open at any one time.
The city also announced it will be escalating the enforcement of existing rules on fiber installation, such as proof of direct resident notification, vehicle identification, and fines for violations. Until companies can demonstrate full compliance, the stop-work orders will remain in effect.
“These private companies must take better care of our community, and we will not stand for less,” Planning Department Director Alan Varela said in a statement.
BROADBAND LEGISLATION UPDATE
Last week, lawmakers introduced the Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act of 2025 in the U.S. Senate. The legislation would direct the FCC to require edge and broadband providers to contribute to the Universal Service Fund (USF).
This requirement aims to reduce the burden on consumers and rural providers while strengthening access to broadband in rural America.
“Fair contributions to the USF from edge providers are long overdue,” U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin said in a statement. While video streaming services account for 75 percent of traffic on rural broadband networks, Mullin said costs from streaming companies are often shifted onto small rural broadband providers.
In other legislative news, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce rejected an amendment to revive the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) using proceeds from FCC spectrum auctions, ensuring those proceeds serve the public rather than government officials. The ACP’s end impacted 23 million Americans' ability to access affordable Internet service.
CHIPS ACT FUNDING ANNOUNCED
While states grapple withterminated funding from the Digital Equity Act and frozen funding from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, funding from the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration-led (NTIA) $1.5 billion Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund appears to still be in play.
Last week, NTIA announced it had received 94 applications requesting nearly $3 billion in federal funding. The third Notice of Funding Opportunity for this program makes available up to $450 million for industry-specific use cases and automated solutions for open and interoperable radio access network equipment.
The program was launched in 2023 through the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which passed with bipartisan support. However, since his inauguration, Trump has called for the repeal of the law; Trump told Congress they should “get rid of the CHIPS Act” in his 2025 State of the Union address.
