After the federal government canceled a major grant program over the summer, Pennsylvania digital equity orgs are struggling to stay afloat.<\/p>\n
The now-terminated $2.75<\/a> billion Digital Equity Act (DEA) would\u2019ve distributed millions of dollars<\/a> to the commonwealth, helping to provide access to the internet, devices and digital skills programming. With that lifeline gone, advocates are scrapping plans to expand their digital access work.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many people in Pennsylvania and everywhere who just cannot access the internet safely or effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n Jennifer Blatz, program director for the Greater Pittsburgh Digital Inclusion Alliance<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not a disinfusion [sic] of resources on any level to match or leverage what\u2019s going to go into the actual infrastructure,\u201d Kristen Rotz, president of the United Way of Pennsylvania, told Technical.ly. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be left to the efforts of grassroots organizations to whatever degree they can continue to carry these missions.\u201d<\/p>\n The United Way of Pennsylvania applied for DEA funds last year, with the plan to offer consulting support for nonprofits that didn\u2019t specialize in digital access work, according to Rotz.<\/p>\n It had already chosen anchor partners in different parts of Pennsylvania. Those selections aligned with areas of the state that were going to benefit from Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, a separate federal initiative to build out broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved regions of the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the BEAD program is in its final stages of proposal approval<\/a>, the success of those investments depends on how well people are able to use the internet available, Rotz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s work that we just simply haven\u2019t been able to take up and carry now because the digital equity resources are not available,\u201d Rotz said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t identified any other funding source for that concept.\u201d<\/p>\n The cancellation of funding through the DEA\u2019s capacity grant program means that orgs across the commonwealth are missing out on $25 million that the state would\u2019ve distributed to support device distribution, digital navigator networks and affordable internet programs in Pennsylvania.\u00a0<\/p>\n Separately, the DEA had a competitive grant program where orgs could apply directly through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The City of Philadelphia was supposed to receive almost $12 million<\/a> that it\u2019s now missing out on.\u00a0<\/p>\n Losing these funding streams is just one aspect of the challenges facing digital access work right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n When the pandemic hit, there was a lot of emphasis on how many families lack internet because everyone was relying on it for school or work. But since then, that awareness and the financial support that came with it, has faded. Efforts like the now-defunct Affordable Connectivity Program<\/a>, were shut down as a result.\u00a0<\/p>\n Without funding and awareness, digital equity advocates now face an uphill battle, left to push forward with limited resources and lean on each other to keep the work going.\u00a0<\/p>\n A gap in digital access<\/p>\n The US Department of Commerce canceled grants<\/a> distributed through the DEA grant programs earlier this year, calling the programs within the act unconstitutional because they specify \u201cracial preferences.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n However, advocates say that racial minorities are only one type of underserved population that the law seeks to support. Eight out of 10 of Pennsylvanians are considered \u201ccovered populations\u201d by the DEA, meaning they are most impacted by the state\u2019s digital divide.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance filed a lawsuit<\/a> against the Trump Administration arguing that the termination of the DEA\u2019s competitive grant program was unconstitutional.\u00a0<\/p>\n But there hasn\u2019t been any update to the lawsuit yet, and orgs aren\u2019t counting on that funding coming back.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lack of funding limits digital navigator networks\u00a0<\/p>\n