- Digital Inclusion Week 2022 Is the Largest Yet
- NTIA Awards Grants Through Connecting Minority Communities Program
- FCC Expands Communications Access for Incarcerated People
- Legislation Introduced to Prevent Broadband Grant Taxation
- Senate Passes Rural Broadband Legislation
- $95 Million Available in Broadband Grants in Maryland
- Schmidt Futures Initiative to Expand Access to Social Safety Net Benefits
- ITIF Details the Changing Role of Inequality in Tech Industry
DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK 2022 IS THE LARGEST YET
This week, agencies and organizations across the nation are celebrating Digital Inclusion Week (DIW). The nationwide event, now in its seventh year, is the National Digital Inclusion Alliance's (NDIA) way of energizing and accelerating conversations and action around digital equity. The theme for this year is "Turning Our Moment into Movement."
At its core, the event offers two primary ways to participate: events and resources.
NDIA offers information about affiliated events for those who want to participate locally, from awareness campaigns to opportunities to engage with elected officials. There are both in-person and online event opportunities to attend.
NDIA also has other resources like a social media kit to raise community awareness; there is information about how to get involved on social media through a campaign or otherwise. There is even a letter template to encourage elected officials to get involved.
The event is made possible through support from DIW’s volunteer committee who worked to help plan and organize the event. More information about DIW, events and resources can be found on NDIA’s website.
NTIA AWARDS GRANTS THROUGH CONNECTING MINORITY COMMUNITIES PROGRAM
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced five grant awards through the Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) pilot program. The grants announced this week total over $10 million and will help to expand technology and digital literacy at five minority-serving colleges and universities.
The CMC grants are directed by NTIA’s Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives. The program is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Internet for All initiative, which directs $268 million to expand Internet connectivity to historically Black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions.
Additional awards will be announced on a rolling basis. More information about the awards can be found on NTIA’s website.
FCC EXPANDS COMMUNICATIONS ACCESS FOR INCARCERATED PEOPLE
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted rules to expand communications services for people with disabilities that are currently incarcerated. The FCC acknowledges that communications barriers and excessive charges can limit access for incarcerated individuals, especially those with disabilities related to speech or hearing.
The new rules will help to reduce charges that limit incarcerated people’s abilities to communicate with family and other sources of support. For example, the FCC will require inmate calling services providers to provide access to relay services eligible for Telecommunications Relay Services Fund support in eligible correctional facilities. This will help support the use of video calls for individuals using American Sign Language. In addition, the order lowers the cap on provider charges for payment processing.
The FCC has also issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking requesting comment on other actions that can be taken to make telephone service for incarcerated individuals more affordable and equitable.
LEGISLATION INTRODUCED TO PREVENT BROADBAND GRANT TAXATION
U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Jerry Moran introduced legislation known as the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (BGTTA). The purpose of this legislation is to amend the Internal Revenue Code to ensure that broadband funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the American Rescue Plan not be considered part of an organization or company’s taxable income.
Many broadband expansion and deployment projects nationwide are set to come from these two pieces of legislation, but as Warner stated in the announcement, taxing such investments would be “counterproductive” to expanding access.
According to a statement from USTelecom SVP of Government Affairs Brandon Heiner, grant recipients may be required to return up to 20 percent of those grants if this legislation is not adopted.
SENATE PASSES RURAL BROADBAND LEGISLATION
In other legislative news, last week the Senate passed the bipartisan Small Business Broadband and Emerging Information Technology Enhancement Act.
The legislation would help enhance broadband access for organizations and businesses in rural areas by increasing training for the Small Business Administration (SBA) employees, increasing reporting on the SBA’s work, and designating a senior employee within the SBA Office of Investment and Innovation to serve as the broadband and emerging information technology coordinator.
$95 MILLION AVAILABLE IN BROADBAND GRANTS IN MARYLAND
At the state level, applications have opened this week for $95 million in funding for broadband expansion in Maryland. The funding is available through the Connect Maryland initiative. Some $400 million has been dedicated through the program.
Through the Connect Maryland Network Infrastructure Grant Program, local jurisdictions and their Internet service provider partners can receive between $1 million and $10 million, with the requirement of matching funds, to construct new broadband networks.
More information can be found on the Connect Maryland website.
SCHMIDT FUTURES INITIATIVE TO EXPAND ACCESS TO SOCIAL SAFETY NET BENEFITS
Schmidt Futures has launched a new initiative to support technology entrepreneurs in their efforts to improve the accessibility of social safety net benefits from the U.S. government. Twelve organizations have been named recipients of the Social Safety Net Product Studio grant through this $13 million investment.
The initiative was launched in partnership with Ballmer Group, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. Teams that are recipients of this funding will also receive technical assistance and support to develop civic tech innovations to help underprivileged populations access government benefits.
“We have been inspired by the ingenuity of the applicant pool, the awardee, and their government partners,” said Elizabeth Young McNally, executive vice president of talent ventures at Schmidt Futures, in the announcement.
ITIF DETAILS THE CHANGING ROLE OF INEQUALITY IN TECH INDUSTRY
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) has released the 10th installment in its Defending Digital Series. In this publication, ITIF details the role of inequality in big tech, arguing that a maturing tech industry and changing societal priorities are shifting the way products are designed and used.
The publication states that while high-profile individuals and major companies in the tech world have been portrayed as the leaders of the industry in the past, the digital world has also created millions of high-paying jobs, and the wealth is distributed among others in the industry. And while the tech industry advances, competition and regulatory pressures increase.
The question of whether a handful of companies will continue to dominate the industry in the years to come remains to be seen, but the resource argues that many industries within the tech space — like energy and transportation — will be less concentrated than they are today.
