This week, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved ten more states’ applications for funding from the Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program.
The announcement said, “States will use this funding to implement their digital equity plans, which outline how they will empower individuals and communities with the tools and skills necessary to benefit from meaningful access to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.”
The ten new approved awards include grants for Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
According to the announcements, the grantees will use the NTIA digital equity funds in a variety of ways:
Hawaii: $6,017,160
- Support the expansion of telehealth adoption and programs across the state.
- Increase access to internet-enabled devices, cybersecurity protections, and affordable broadband services.
- Establish and expand a statewide digital navigator training program for a digital literacy curriculum, focusing on the populations most in need.
Kansas: $8,229,246
- Create a pool of funds for a long-term affordability program.
- Collaborate with partners to create an online digital equity map and dashboard to help the agency, organizations, and the public understand progress in closing the digital literacy skills gap.
Kentucky: $12,123,531
- Advance digital literacy and skills via digital navigator programs and digital citizenship.
- Create an affordable device and refurbishing program that will provide affordable devices and handle device refurbishment.
Massachusetts: $14,133,924
- Provide free, in-unit Wi-Fi in public housing or low-income neighborhoods.
- Provide Wi-Fi cellular hotspots to people who lack stable housing.
- Secure new or used internet-enabled devices that can be distributed to target populations to improve access to affordable devices.
Mississippi: $10,752,090
- Partner with public entities to provide skills training and devices.
- Launch skills training through intragovernmental agencies that can scale digital skills programs quickly.
New Jersey: $18,094,857
- Establish standards in digital literacy for the state’s adult learners and offer a tool for measuring skills and progress in learning digital literacy.
- Create a competitive subgrant program to increase the skills and confidence of in-need residents in using the internet and devices.
North Carolina: $22,456,097
- Partner with workforce and education agencies to identify and adopt digital skills standards including cybersecurity, digital privacy, and digital health literacy.
- Increase the supply of no-/low-cost internet-enabled devices, both new and refurbished, into North Carolina’s digital ecosystem.
Pennsylvania: $25,508,473
- Perform data analytics to set standards for subgrantee outcomes, maintain asset inventory, and develop a public-facing dashboard.
- Provide technical assistance in support of a micro-grant program for digital inclusion activities.
Rhode Island: $4,540,059
- Invest in covered population-serving ecosystems to ensure all geographic regions have access to comprehensive digital inclusion services.
- Explore new family-sustaining career opportunities for residents in need to deliver digital inclusion services.
Virginia: $18,330,732
- Create a comprehensive initiative designed to equip members of all covered populations in the Commonwealth with the digital skills and tools needed to fully participate in the digital economy.
- Establish a state-wide online resource hub of local and regional digital access resources across the Commonwealth, available to all Virginians.
The awards announced this week — as well as the 34 announced previously — come from the first round of the NTIA Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, which made more than $800 million (of the total $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program) available to states.
