The Trump administration continues with its cost-slashing, anti-DEI agenda, and its coming for nationwide efforts to close the digital divide next.
On May 8, President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social that he was directing the end of the Biden-Harris era Digital Equity Act. Trump called the program — which allocated $2.75 billion to digital inclusion programs — "racist" and "illegal." Last week, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) abruptly terminated grants for 20 different state projects under the act, including digital access in K-12 schools, veteran and senior programs, and rural connectivity efforts.
The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) called the decision a "significant setback" to universal access goals. "SETDA stands with our state members and partner organizations who have been diligently building inclusive broadband and digital access plans rooted in community need, engagement, and systemic transformation. Equitable access to technology is not a partisan issue–it is a public good."
The decision points to an uncertain future for existing broadband and digital connectivity efforts managed or funded by the federal government. Since most serve specific communities and demographics which are at the highest risk of being technologically disconnected or left behind, they have entered the crosshairs of the administration's "anti-woke" crusade. Indigenous connectivity advocates, for example, warned that a Trump presidency would have an immediate impact on rural broadband projects that were in the process of breaking ground, as the president simultaneously promised to shake up the FCC and whittle down the federal government's spending.
“Ongoing efforts to bridge the digital divide in the U.S. face significant challenges with the recent termination of the Digital Equity Act, and potential drastic changes coming to the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program," said Sharayah Lane, senior advisor of community connectivity for the global nonprofit the Internet Society and member of the Lummi Nation. "This will critically impact the future of affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet access in underserved areas, further limiting essential education, healthcare, and economic opportunities."
The Biden administration, which pledged billions of federal dollars to building out the nation's high speed broadband and fiber optic network, had made closing the digital divide a central component to its massive federal spending package, including launching the Affordable Connectivity Program, the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, and the BEAD initiative. BEAD funds, in particular, were split up between state broadband infrastructure projects, including 19 grants over $1 billion. But now the funds are being pulled out from under them.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has had the $42 billion BEAD budget under review since Trump took office, and has falsely claimed that the program "has not connected a single person to the internet," but is rather a "woke mandate" under the previous presidency.
Meanwhile, Trump has pushed to open up an auction of highly sought after spectrum bands to serve WiFi, 5G, and 6G projects under his "One Big Beautiful Bill" — a move that may sideline rural connectivity projects focused on building reliable, physical connections to high speed internet. Advocates have long fought for federal investment in "missing middle miles" of fiber optic cables and broadband, rather than unstable satellite connections, such as those promised by Elon Musk's Starlink.
"We need to prioritize investments in sustainable infrastructure through programs like BEAD and the Digital Equity Act to ensure long-term, affordable Internet access for all Americans, strengthen the economy, and bolster the nation’s overall digital resilience," said Lane.
