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.
NTIA is holding Tribal consultations to gather input from Tribal Nations to inform future Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) for Tribal participation in the DEA Programs. Details regarding these upcoming consultations are as follows—
Date/Time: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm ET
Date/Time: Thursday, October 19, 2023 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm ET
Identified topics for the Tribal consultations include application requirements, funded activities, technical assistance and support, and evaluation and award methodology. NTIA is accepting written comments on these topics until Thursday, November 16, 2023 by 8:00pm ET, which can be submitted to digitalequity@ntia.gov with the email subject line, “NTIA Digital Equity Tribal Program.” Questions on the DEA programs or the upcoming Tribal consultations should be directed to Angela Thi Bennet, Digital Equity Director, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, by emailing digitalequity@ntia.gov or calling (202) 482-2048.
For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.
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