In a finding that will surprise nobody, Pew Charitable Trust analyzed all of state plans related to the Digital Equity Act (DEA). This is the grant program that is aimed at tackling barriers to broadband adoption, such as getting computers into homes, providing training on how to use technology and the Internet, and increasing broadband adoption rates. Pew found that every state and territory says that the primary barrier to closing the digital divide is affordability.

The DEA is the first federal grant aimed at directly tackling digital equity barriers – previous federal grants have largely concentrated on broadband infrastructure. The DEA will provide grants administered directly by NTIA and is also providing funding for every state to make local grant awards.

States area really struggling with the affordability issue after Congress let the Affordable Connectivity Plan (ACP) lapse – the plan that provided a $30 monthly discount for low-income households. ISPs had responded well to the ACP program. For example, the biggest cable companies offered plans that were zero cost to customers who qualified for ACP, or that let them take the discount for faster-speed plans. States could see that ACP was getting broadband into millions of homes that would not have otherwise afforded it.

A lot of states were expecting to use the DEA grant funding to help people enroll and take advantage of the ACP plan. The vision was that there would be a home broadband plan that every household could afford. The DEA funding was also going to be used to buy computers for homes and to train people on how to best use the Internet.

It’s easy to say in retrospect that every State, County, or non-profit that proposed to use ACP as the primary tool for solving the digital divide was somewhat naïve. It was clear from the start that the ACP program only had enough funding for a few years and that Congress would need to act to keep the plan going. We’ve had a Congress for over a decade that struggles to pass needed legislation. Lawmakers from both parties sponsored bills to continue the ACP, but no bills ever got enough support to even get a Committee vote.

States are now scrambling to find alternative ways to improve broadband in communities with low broadband penetration. The Pew article outlines a few such efforts being tried in communities:

• Expand free WiFi at community anchor institutions to provide more places for the public to connect to the Internet.
• Bring free broadband to public housing.
• Bring free WiFi to parks and other commonly used outdoor locations.
• Establish tech hubs where people can not only get free WiFi but can use public computers and get trained on how to use computers and broadband.
• Lending programs to get Internet-connected devices to the public.
• Establish telemedicine hubs.
• Fund WiFi infrastructure for newly constructed low-income housing.

These are all great ideas, but they are all not nearly as beneficial as getting broadband directly into every home. I wrote a blog in 2020 about a study done by the Quello Center, which is part of the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State. This study was conducted in a way to isolate the results from factors such as household income and race, and it showed definitive proof of the advantages to students of having a computer and broadband in the home. One of the most stunning findings of the study was that “The gap in digital skills between students with no home access or cell phone only and those with fast or slow home Internet access is equivalent to the gap in digital skills between 8th and 11th grade students.”

States rightfully still have a goal to get broadband into every home, and a handful of States are looking for ways to create a State broadband subsidy similar to the ACP. State funding such plana is expensive, but this might be one of the most beneficial ways that a State government can help low-income households.

It’s frustrating to see government programs that work die from lack of funding. Pew has been one of the strongest proponents of continuing the ACP plan. But it feels like every day that goes by, the more remote the chance of the ACP being resurrected.