Description
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has announced that it will be hosting Tribal consultations on three grant programs authorized by the Digital Equity Act (DEA), which was included as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA). IIJA appropriated $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs to promote digital equity and inclusion. These three programs are: (1) the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program (SDEPG); (2) the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program; and (3) the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program. The SDEPG is a $60 million formula grant program for eligible Tribal entities, states, and territories to develop digital equity plans; the State Digital Equity Capacity Program is a $1.44 billion grant program for eligible Tribal entities, states, and territories to fund implementation of digital equity plans; and the Digital Equity Competitive Program is a $1.25 billion competitive grant program for eligible entities to implement digital equity projects. The DEA requires that NTIA set aside 5% of these grant funds for eligible Tribal entities. The consultations will be on Oct. 17, 2023 and Oct. 19, 2023. Comments are due on Nov. 16, 2023.