- Feds Fund Digital Upskilling
- BEAD Progress Tracker Updated
- 2024 Web Almanac Assesses Accessibility
- Georgia County Advances Community Engagement
- Report Details Improved Service, Adoption
FEDS FUND DIGITAL UPSKILLING
This week, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recommended more than $250 million for award to 24 organizations to support digital skills training initiatives nationwide.
The funding announced today will support projects in 39 states and territories. The programs’ funding can be used for varied initiatives including digital skills training, workforce development initiatives, low- or no-cost equipment access, and building public computing centers.
“Right now, millions of Americans want to use the Internet, but either don’t know how or can’t afford the devices to do so,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement. “Today’s announcement … is a historic investment in getting everyone in America the tools they need to succeed online.”
The award recipients include private, public, education and nonprofit entities.
One recipient is an Ohio-based digital equity nonprofit organization, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA). The proposed NDIA project intends to impact 11 states by expanding Digital Navigator programs. This training model, introduced by NDIA three years ago, has gained traction nationwide since its launch.
In a blog celebrating the award, NDIA said this grant will help the organization support 13 existing Digital Navigator programs to allow states to scale this work and serve more people. The organization and its partners are providing a 38 percent funding match.
Another award recipient, the city of St Petersburg, Fla., said in an announcement that this funding will support device distribution, digital skills training, and even cybersecurity training. The city’s Office of Equity will work with community partners in this effort.
The funding will be distributed following budget review and processing. More information can be found on the NTIA website.
BEAD PROGRESS TRACKER UPDATED
In other federal news, NTIA released an updated version of its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Progress Dashboard this week.
NTIA first launched the dashboard in October to illustrate progress made toward implementing the $42.45 billion in federal funding from the BEAD program. Since that release, steady progress has been made, including that all 56 states and territories received approvals on their initial proposals.
In addition to that milestone, according to the dashboard update, 39 of 56 entities have concluded their state challenge process; 22 of 56 entities have begun selecting service providers; three of 56 entities have completed the service provider selection process; and three of 56 entities have released their final proposal for public comment.
The program is expected to continue making progress under the incoming presidential administration, according to its director.
2024 WEB ALMANAC ASSESSES ACCESSIBILITY
The 2024 Web Almanac, published by the HTTP Archive, is a volunteer-driven effort to assess the state of the web using raw statistics and analysis. It is broken into 19 chapters, one of which measures digital accessibility.
Mike Gifford, open standards and practices lead at CivicActions, worked on the accessibility chapter of the Web Almanac. He took a government-focused lens to evaluate website accessibility in the public sector. The chapter compares state government websites in the U.S. and sample websites from international governments. As Gifford said, “Using the Web Almanac, we could have a consistent measure to go off and say, ‘How do sites compare, and what can we learn about individual agencies as well?’”
The Web Almanac aims to be a tool for organizations in government and outside it to assess changes in digital accessibility, understand challenges — such as the use of inaccessible PDFs, or at a broader level, a lack of understanding — and make improvements.
The Almanac creates a competitive environment by comparing where states and countries are on accessibility. For example, it cites Netherlands as the most accessible national government, whereas the U.S. is not even in the top 10. Colorado is cited as the most accessible U.S. state government, which is a priority for state leadership, as seen through state legislation, and in efforts like the Aira launch and those led by the Colorado Digital Service team.
Gifford said access to digital services is a civil right, and he hopes the Web Almanac can highlight to senior leadership where organizations stand compared to others, and where they can improve.
“Here’s the snapshot … and we can try to understand some of the broader problems that we should face and have an external measure of quality that we can try and live up to,” Gifford said.
More information about digital accessibility and other factors relating to the state of the web can be found in the report.
GEORGIA COUNTY ADVANCES COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
In local news, Clayton County, Ga., is offering digital inclusion programming for members of the community. This includes digital skills training courses, such as a Jan. 2 PowerPoint training session and a forthcoming Jan. 21 course exploring how to use Internet-enabled devices.
On Friday, the county’s Office of Digital Equity will host its first town hall meeting, providing an opportunity for residents and business owners in the community to share their experiences related to digital access or the lack thereof.
The town hall will include a presentation on county digital equity efforts, an open forum for the community, and a Q&A session with representatives from local government, service providers and community organizations.
REPORT DETAILS IMPROVED SERVICE, ADOPTION
A new report from NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association outlines progress made in 2024 in expanding broadband access.
The 2024 Broadband/Internet Availability Survey Report cites several noteworthy findings, including that an increased number of respondents’ customers — 89 percent, compared to 84 in 2023 — can now receive downstream speeds greater than or equal to 100 Mbps. Consumers are adopting these higher-speed services; over 67 percent of respondents’ customers subscribe to 100 Mbps downstream broadband or better, an increase from less than 60 percent in 2023.
“Our Broadband/Internet Availability Survey underscores that not only did providers continue to offer better broadband services in 2024, but also that rural consumers are making use of these more capable services in greater numbers,” NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield said in a statement.
