Digital Equity Grant Winners Not Notified of Official Pause

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2025 – Groups recommended for digital equity grants from the federal government have not been notified of a pause on funds, according to two people familiar with the matter. Those entities did receive notice that travel related to diversity efforts would not be an allowable expense, the people said.

The Free Press Tuesday reported the Trump administration had frozen funding for two programs under the Digital Equity Act, totaling about $2.7 billion. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration had recommended 65 municipalities, universities, and nonprofits for $619 million in grant funding under the Biden administration, but they need to get through a budget review by the agency’s grant manager before accessing funds.

It’s possible the grant manager review could leave awardees in an extended limbo without an official pause. The same agency managing the digital equity grants is also still reviewing awards under an NTIA broadband infrastructure program the Trump administration has been critical of.

The digital equity programs are aimed at addressing barriers to broadband adoption that exist after infrastructure is deployed, like expensive devices or a lack of experience using digital services. They total $2.69 billion in all, and the agency fielded applications for $1.84 billion of that money last year.

An NTIA spokesperson was quoted in The Free Press as saying the administration was “reviewing these awards and related program policies to ensure they are free of burdensome regulations, race-based mandates, and identity politics.”

Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, said as of now, groups recommended for grant awards had not received a notice that their funding was on hold. NDIA works with and assists more than 2,000 digital equity groups across the country, and convenes meetings with the recommended grant winners. The group was itself recommended for a $25.7 million grant.

A person not affiliated with NDIA but familiar with the matter said they were also not aware of any notice from the government that the awards were frozen. 

“NDIA has not been able to verify the accuracy of the article,” Siefer said. “The grants have not been paused.”

The NTIA’s office of public affairs and the spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

Entities recommended for awards yesterday received notice that they could not use grant funds to pay for travel for “diversity, equity, and inclusion” purposes, but the notice did not say that funded projects themselves were in jeopardy or that money was formally frozen, Siefer and the person said. 

NDIA plans to use its grant funding on projects in 11 states. Those include setting up programs to help people gain the skills to navigate online services, assistance in accessing affordable internet programs, and other efforts.

In addition to the funding for nonprofits, the NTIA also administers a digital equity program for state and territory governments. The agency recommended more than $600 million in awards under that program in the last months of 2024. 

States are largely planning on subgranting out their allocations, and most are proceeding with those application processes. Illinois, Oregon, and Arizona provided updates on their programs this week, hosting webinars and urging interested parties to apply. California’s broadband office opened up for applications yesterday.

Texas paused activity related to its Digital Equity Act allocation on March 4, citing uncertainty amid the “ongoing federal government realignment to meet the priorities of the new administration.”

In November, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, now the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, called on the NTIA to pause the Digital Equity Act program aimed at nonprofits. He argued they were discriminatory because they target projects that seek to boost broadband adoption in minority communities, among other groups like the elderly, low-income, rural Americans, and veterans.

The law standing up the program specified the “covered populations” that funding would be aimed at, including racial and ethnic minorities.

The Digital Equity Act, Siefer said, has something of a “branding problem,” largely because the word equity is generally disfavored by the Trump administration. But Republican lawmakers have been receptive when she and NDIA affiliates have met with them to explain the programs.

“It means grandma is going to be more safe online because she’ll understand how to avoid scams. It means a veteran can talk to their doctor without getting in a car and driving two hours,” she said. “That’s what these programs are really about.”