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What’s New in Digital Equity: Detroit’s Free Device Support

Plus, Massachusetts and Texas have announced digital equity funding, the General Services Administration has made staff appointments, the FCC chairman rejects rulemaking proposal, and more.

Detroit skyline view from distance
This week in “What’s New in Digital Equity” — our weekly look at government digital equity and broadband news — we have a number of interesting items, which you can jump to with the links below:

DETROIT’S FREE DEVICE SUPPORT


The Detroit Department of Innovation and Technology has opened two Motor City Tech Bars inside the city, with six more set to roll out in three phases over the next year.

The Motor City Tech Bars will allow city residents to bring in broken Internet-enabled devices like laptops or smartphones to be fixed free of charge. In addition to diagnostics and repair for devices, they will offer personalized help and digital literacy courses. The plan is to have one tech bar in each City Council district in Detroit.

The Tech Bars will be located within the city’s existing Tech Hubs, which were first announced in February 2024 to provide neighborhood-level access to digital resources and tools. Tech Hub locations offer free Wi-Fi, device access and digital literacy training.

The two Tech Bars that are already open are located at the Redford and Douglass branches of the Detroit Public Library, marking the completion of the first phase of this project. The second phase will involve the opening of three additional tech hub locations, and the third will see the opening of the remaining two. The other seven locations are expected to be open by June.

“The Detroit Public Library has been at the forefront of bridging the digital divide for customers for generations,” Christopher Korenowsky, chief of operations and customer experiences officer of the Detroit Library, said in a statement. “DPL is proud to continue to ensure technology access is open to all and free of charge while working with our partners on this digital equity initiative.”

Residents who want to get a device fixed at these Tech Bars can make an appointment or simply show up. The Tech Bars can be reached via online request or by phone. Human-I-T is working with the city and its public library system to enable this initiative.

The city of Detroit has been prioritizing digital equity for years under the previous leadership of Joshua Edmonds and Christine Burkette. The city’s current digital equity and inclusion manager is Keonda Buford.


MASSACHUSETTS FUNDS DIGITAL EQUITY WORK


At the state level, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) has announced new funding through two separate initiatives to support broadband expansion and digital literacy.

First, on Jan. 23, MBI announced more than $12 million to support expanded Internet access through the Broadband Infrastructure Gap Networks Grant Program. MBI Director Michael Baldino said in a statement that this program “will close existing gaps in service … and advance our overall economic output.”

Second, on Wednesday, MBI announced $19 million through the Digital Equity Partnerships Program, which was established in September 2022. This funding will support digital equity projects that deliver training, resources, and broadband infrastructure to residents of the state. The projects will distribute more than 500 devices and will expand the Apartment Wi-Fi program.

One example of a project that will be funded through this program is that the city of Boston will be able to provide 2,900 residents — new arrivals and low-income individuals — with Wi-Fi hot spots and Internet-enabled devices.



TEXAS AWARDS $701.9 MILLION FOR BROADBAND


In other state news, Texas has announced grant awards totaling more than $701.9 million in funding through the Bringing Online Opportunities to Texas Program. The effort is funded by the federal Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF) and voter-approved state revenue.

“The counties selected for this program demonstrated a pressing need for broadband infrastructure investment, and this program will provide vital assistance to help these communities access essential online resources,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said in a statement.

This is the second round of funding from this program, the first of which delivered $11.4 million. The first round supported projects for 1,528 locations; this round will support connectivity for more than 95,000 unserved locations.


GSA APPOINTS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION SERVICES DIRECTOR


At the federal level, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced several new appointments.

GSA is a U.S. government agency providing centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government. Part of GSA, Technology Transformation Services (TTS), supports the design and delivery of digital government.

The new appointments include Michael Peters as Public Buildings Service commissioner, Josh Gruenbaum as Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) commissioner, Thomas Shedd as FAS deputy commissioner and director of TTS, and Russell McGranahan as general counsel.

Shedd, who will support digital government in his new role, brings private-sector experience — most recently building software at Tesla. He said in a statement he believes collaboration will support the acceleration of agencies’ technology adoption.


FCC CHAIRMAN REJECTS RULEMAKING PROPOSAL


Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) new chairman, announced this week he has ended the agency’s consideration of a rulemaking proposal that subjected tower builds to environmental reviews. The proposed plan had been under consideration at the FCC since 2022.

“It is time for America to build,” said Carr in a statement, criticizing the “red tape” and “progressive policy agenda” that he said has delayed the Biden-Harris administration's goal of connecting millions of Americans to high-speed Internet service.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, more than 2.4 million previously unserved homes and small businesses were connected to high-speed Internet service. The Biden-Harris administration also passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which established the congressionally approved, 10-year Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.
Julia Edinger is a staff writer for Government Technology. She has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Toledo and has since worked in publishing and media. She's currently located in Southern California.
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