NTIA Begins Process to Revive Digital Equity Grant Program
The program faces a tight timeline for a potential December reopening.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2026 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has taken its first formal step toward reopening the Digital Equity Act’s competitive grant program.
NTIA published a notice Tuesday opening a 60-day public comment period on the information collection and application requirements it plans to use for a new round of funding. The notice begins the federal paperwork process needed before NTIA can accept applications under the revived program.
The notice says NTIA will use the information from applicants to review their proposed projects and budgets. Affected applicants include nonprofits, community anchor institutions, educational agencies, workforce-development entities, Tribal entities, state and local governmental entities, and other eligible organizations or partnerships.
The move comes as the Commerce Department works toward its previously announced goal of reopening the program by December.
The agency estimates about 800 applicants could respond, with each application taking roughly 18 hours to complete, for an estimated 14,400 total annual burden hours and $696,240 in annual costs to the public.
Commerce told a federal judge earlier this month that it was preparing a new notice of funding opportunity for the $1.25 billion Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program. The department had previously canceled most Digital Equity Act funding, prompting a lawsuit from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and other affected groups.
The litigation changed course after U.S. District Judge John Bates ruled in July that the law’s requirement to direct funding toward racial minority populations was unconstitutional but could be separated from the rest of the program. The Commerce Department subsequently told the court that it intended to reinstate the competitive grant program without that provision.
The latest NTIA notice does not mention the court ruling, the litigation or the statute’s “covered populations” provision.
The paperwork process also leaves NTIA with a tight timeline if the agency intends to begin accepting applications in December. After the current 60-day comment period closes, the agency would need to complete a second 30-day notice and receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget.
The new notice follows an Aug. 19 agreement to pause the legal challenge while Commerce prepares its new funding notice. The Digital Equity Act, enacted as part of the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, established $2.75 billion in federal funding to help Americans overcome barriers to broadband adoption and use.
NTIA began recommending competitive grant awards in late 2024 and early 2025. According to agency data, NTIA canceled 120 Digital Equity Act awards worth roughly $1.4 billion. Some recipients received formal award notices, before the funding was subsequently terminated by the Trump administration on May 9, 2025.
The latest action indicates that the administration is moving from plans to implementation of a revived Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program, although applicants will still have to wait for the formal funding announcement before they can apply. Comments are due Oct. 26.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to better clarify that NTIA is seeking comment on the information collection and application requirements for the Competitive Grant Program.
