Equity Isn’t a Four-Letter Word. It’s a Strategy for Investing in the US’s Digital Future

Somewhere along the way, equity became a four-letter word in Washington politics. The term that once symbolized fairness and the foundation of America’s promise of economic opportunity for all has been recast as divisive, political and even dangerous.

But the truth is simpler and more urgent: equity is not a slur; it is a strategy. And nowhere is that clearer than in the fight to close the digital divide by restoring Digital Equity Act (DEA) funding and preserving states’ ability to use the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program’s non-deployment to invest in digital literacy training and broadband adoption.

When the Trump administration’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) sent termination letters on May 9 to recipients of DEA grants, the decision stunned advocates and state officials across the country. The DEA, which was enacted in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), was one of the most forward-looking investments in the nation’s broadband agenda. It led to the authorization of $2.75 billion to close adoption gaps and ensure that every American, regardless of income, geography or background, could meaningfully participate in the digital economy.

The act established three complementary programs:

• The State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program ($60 million), which funded the first wave of state planning and coordination efforts;
• The State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program ($1.44 billion), supporting state efforts to expand digital inclusion initiatives; and
• The Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program ($1.25 billion), open to local governments, nonprofits and community institutions doing hands-on digital equity work.

Many of these organizations, some having already received award notifications as recently as January, found their programs suddenly halted midstream. The ripple effect is now being felt nationwide, especially among those that built momentum around new digital skills, affordability, and device-access initiatives.

At its core, the law defined digital equity as “the condition in which individuals and communities have the information technology capacity that is needed for full participation in the society and economy of the United States.” In practice, that means building networks and empowering people to use them.

Crucially, the act required states to focus their plans and investments in eight different “covered populations” — those most likely to be excluded from the digital economy. These groups include low-income households; aging individuals; incarcerated or justice-involved people; veterans; individuals with disabilities; people with language barriers, including English learners; members of racial and ethnic minority groups; and residents of rural areas. In many states, that list also encompasses tribal communities, housing-insecure families and disconnected youth.

These populations are not abstractions; they are the essential workforce, caregivers, and neighbors who keep our communities functioning. The DEA made their inclusion not optional but foundational to our nation’s efforts to close the digital divide: a recognition that broadband access and digital skills are gateways to education, healthcare, civic participation and economic mobility.

Understanding equity beyond equality

Equity, in this and every other policy context, is often misunderstood. It is not the same as equality, which assumes everyone starts from the same place, nor merely opportunity, which assumes access alone is enough. Equity recognizes the uneven terrain shaped by our history that includes centuries of exclusion, segregation and disinvestment that still dictate who has access to wealth, education and technology today.

To pursue equity is to account for those structural imbalances and direct resources where they are most needed. It is the practical expression of fairness: not giving everyone the same but ensuring everyone has what they need to thrive.

Sadly, that distinction is precisely what has made equity a political flashpoint. In today’s polarized climate, calls for equity are often caricatured as favoritism or reverse discrimination. But for those of us working to expand digital opportunity, equity is the opposite. It is a strategy to ensure that the full promise of our infrastructure investments reaches every community, not just those already wired for success.

At the National Urban League, we have long recognized that equitable connectivity requires both direct service and systems-level advocacy — the very balance the DEA was designed to achieve. The DEA sought to operationalize many of the same principles outlined in our Lewis Latimer Plan for Digital Equity and Inclusion, centering investments not only in broadband deployment but in the human and institutional capacity that ensures meaningful use.

Through our Urban Tech Jobs Program (UTJP), we have helped thousands of adults, particularly from underserved and underemployed communities, transition into high-growth digital careers. Between 2022 and 2024 alone, UTJP served more than 3,700 participants with nearly 1,000 individuals securing employment in fields such as cybersecurity, data analytics, IT support, and project management.

This on-the-ground experience reinforces what our policy research has long shown: the digital divide cannot be solved by infrastructure alone. The Lewis Latimer Plan calls for a permanent national strategy rooted in four pillars: affordability, access, adoption and accountability, with targeted funding to community-based organizations that know how to reach the populations most often left behind.

That is precisely what the DEA grant programs were intended to do: equip states, territories, tribes and local entities with resources to build sustainable ecosystems of internet access, broadband adoption and digital opportunity. By terminating those programs, the federal government risks unraveling the community-driven progress that was just beginning to take root.

The DEA was not a “racial handout,” as the Trump administration claimed — it was a bipartisan promise. It was a codified recognition that broadband is not just about cables and towers, but about people: their ability to learn, work and take part fully in modern life. That promise is now in jeopardy — and the lack of movement on Capitol Hill on this issue is staggering.

Across the country, digital-equity leaders are beating the drum. We understand what too many in Washington have forgotten or refuse to say out loud: without sustained funding for digital skills, device access and community outreach, the billions invested in broadband infrastructure will fall short of their intended purpose.

Consensus without certainty

What is striking is not the disagreement about digital equity’s importance, but the consensus. Nearly every stakeholder in the broadband ecosystem, including industry, now acknowledges that connectivity without adoption is a half-measure. In fact, an analysis of state digital-equity plans found that every state identifies lack of affordability, lack of devices or lack of digital-skills support as a primary barrier.

The same consensus extends to BEAD implementation: Congress originally authorized non-deployment funds to support outreach, training, devices and adoption, not simply infrastructure. State broadband offices have issued letters in unison urging restoration of DEA funding and clarity on use of BEAD non-deployment funds. The National Urban League also sent a letter to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth calling for immediate reinstatement of DEA grant programs and agency guidance to using BEAD non-deployment funds as Congress originally intended.

Meanwhile, ten House Democrats asked NTIA to provide guidance on using federal broadband funding for things like workforce, device distribution and digital-skills training. And more than 140 state legislators from 36 states signed a letter to Lutnick requesting that any BEAD changes be optional rather than mandatory and emphasizing the importance of non-deployment use cases.

But without specific direction from Congress or from NTIA, states are left in limbo — unsure if they will receive the promised funding and resources needed to fully address the connectivity needs of their residents. As the National Conference of State Legislatures notes, this is not a technical problem, but rather a political one.

What we stand to lose

Somewhere along the way equity became the latest victim of the politics of language and deemed a word that certain political actors on the right decided was too loaded to use. But if our elected leaders are serious about economic competitiveness, national security, workforce readiness and digital citizenship in the age of artificial intelligence, then equity is not a distraction. It should be the strategy.

The data is clear. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2023 roughly 80 % of US adults reported having home broadband, but striking gaps remain in device access and digital-skills training among lower-income households. Earlier Pew data showed that 43% of adults in households earning under $30,000 lacked home broadband, compared with just 8 % of those earning more than $75,000.

The evidence is undeniable: programs that center people, not just infrastructure, work. Nevertheless, Congress continues to allow the Trump administration to fund the former while starving the latter. By treating equity as politically toxic, we are not just defunding programs; we are defunding opportunity and our nation’s future.

If the federal government truly intends to deliver the promise of universal connectivity, it must reaffirm that equity is a core pillar of our national broadband strategy. That means restoring the full funding authorized under the DEA, ensuring BEAD non-deployment dollars are used for people as much as for pipes and safeguarding future infrastructure programs so they fund three essentials together: deployment, digital literacy training and upskilling and affordable devices.

This moment calls for real congressional leadership — not simply to correct a policy decision, but to recommit to the principle that drove the bipartisan infrastructure law in the first place: that every household, regardless of ZIP code or income, deserves the tools to learn, work and thrive in the digital age. Anything less would be a partial solution to a whole problem we cannot afford to ignore.