By Joseph Phelan, Grants Development Consultant (Broadband, Transportation, & Utilities)
By the end of 2024, every entity had its State Digital Equity Capacity Grant approved by the NTIA, paving the way for funds to funnel to reach populations throughout the United States.
As a refresher, included within the IIJA was the Digital Equity Act, which provided $2.75 billion across three grant programs for various digital equity and inclusion activities. Two of the programs went directly to the 56 entities that make up the US. The first provided allocations (totaling $60.6 million) to entities to create their digital equity plans. States and territories then submitted intentions for the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant by the end of May 2024. NTIA then approved on a rolling basis—beginning last summer with Nevada, and ending with Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, North Dakota, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands on December 19, 2024. This first round of capacity grants provided roughly $768 million in funding to states and territories. In addition to the planning and capacity grants, the NTIA offered competitive grants for any eligible entity through the Digital Equity Competitive Grant.