President Trump’s DE&I executive order could halt or delay Biden-era broadband program
By Wesley Brown
LITTLE ROCK – Feb. 17, 2025 – Possibly millions of dollars in federal funding to bring “digital equity” to rural communities across Arkansas to bridge the digital divide could now be at risk as the Trump administration has frozen all funding related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) programs.
Ahead of President Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recommended on Jan. 17 that the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and two other U.S.-based nonprofits receive millions in new federal funding to support digital skills and inclusion projects in Arkansas and nationwide.
Nearly two weeks after the NTIA announcement, Gov. Sarah Sanders and Arkansas State Broadband Office (ARConnect) Director Glen Howie publicly acknowledged in February that NTIA had recommended that $10.7 million flow to UAMS from the Biden-era program.
Among several proposed project activities, the UAMS funding would support expanding HIPAA-compliant telehealth access at rural anchor institutions, such as senior-focused community centers and libraries across Arkansas. It would also improve the availability and affordability of fixed and wireless broadband technology access in those rural communities.
The funding would also allow UAMS to offer comprehensive digital literacy training focused on healthcare-related skills, including using mobile health devices, understanding telehealth platforms, and basic digital literacy skills such as Wi-Fi connectivity, cybersecurity, and online privacy. UAMS said it would offer those services through in-person and virtual access points and facilitate enrollment in broadband, device assistance programs, and hot spot lending to increase broadband adoption in underserved communities.
“Building out broadband infrastructure is only one piece of the puzzle in bridging the digital divide,” said Howie. “To truly empower all Arkansans with the ability to self-determine their success in the 21st-century digital economy, we must expand our efforts to everyday uses of broadband, including remote healthcare options and cybersecurity training and protections.”
“This funding represents a transformative opportunity to enhance telehealth services, expand digital literacy, and promote greater broadband adoption in underserved communities,” added Roy Kitchen, executive director for UAMS e-Link and the principal investigator on the grant. “With this funding, the UAMS Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and its partners aim to create a more connected and equitable Arkansas, ensuring that all residents, especially older adults, have the tools and resources needed to thrive in today’s digital world.”
Arkansas will also be a project area for two other programs recommended for funding through the NTIA program. Columbus, Ohio-based National Digital Inclusion Alliance and the National Lead for America Inc. in Dodge City, Kan., have been recommended for $25.7 million and $12 million in “digital equity” funding planned to impact Arkansas. The Texas-based Communication Service for the Deaf Inc. has also been recommended for $1-.7 to provide digital access and workforce training services to deaf, hard-of-hearing, and deafblind individuals in Arkansas and 32 other states.
Despite the recent NTIA and announcements by Gov. Sanders and the State Broadband Office, an executive order by President Trump on his first day in office could delay, halt, or cut possible hundreds of millions of broadband funding for Arkansas under the federal Digital Equity Act.
In his Jan. 20 executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” President Trump ordered all federal agencies “to detail the ways they have furthered DE&I’s infiltration of the federal government.”
“The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the military,” statement Trump. “This was a concerted effort stemming from President Biden’s first day in office when he issued Executive Order 13985, ‘Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.‘
“The public release of these plans demonstrated immense public waste and shameful discrimination. That ends today,” Trump continued. “Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great.”
If Trump follows through on his public threat to end all funding, programs, and jobs related to DE&I, billions of dollars in funding already allocated to Arkansas and other states could be imperiled. For example, if all funding for the Digital Equity Act is halted, the state’s fledgling broadband program could eventually go bankrupt without state or local support.
Nationally, the NTIA recently handed out $619 million to 65 organizations, including UAMS, to empower individuals and communities nationwide with the essential skills they need to thrive in today’s connected world. In September, the NTIA said it received more than 700 applications requesting more than $6.5 billion in funding to support digital equity projects nationwide.
That is more than six times the amount available from the highly contested program, which is part of the $1.1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Act approved by Congress and signed into law in November 2021 during the peak of the pandemic-related recession. Under that law, the three-part Digital Equity Act provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion.
In 2022, NTIA began awarding $60 million to states, D.C., and territories from the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program. Since then, all 50 states and the U.S. have submitted their Digital Equity Plans, and NTIA has accepted all plans. On Dec. 19, the Arkansas State Broadband Office received nearly $10.2 billion through that pool of funding to implement programs the state’s Digital Skills and Opportunity Plan, the state’s blueprint for addressing the digital skills gap first pushed by former Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
The NTIA has been allocated $1.44 under the Digital Equity Act for the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program. This funding allows states and territories to begin implementing their digital equity plans to create digital equity plans and other digital equity projects.
To complement that program, the Competitive Grant Program appropriates another $1.25 billion to ensure communities have access to the devices and skills needed to participate fully in the digital ecosystem, including $619 million of the $1 billion available in the first round of the highly contested 50-state competition.
The Digital Equity Act programs complement Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment. The BEAD Program was allocated $42.45 billion by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to expand high-speed internet access across the country by funding broadband planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption projects and activities.
In June 2023, Gov. Sanders and the Arkansas Department of Commerce announced that ARConnect would receive over $1 billion from the BEAD program to expand high-speed internet access at an estimated 215,000 homes and businesses throughout the state, mostly in rural areas.
“These funds are an economic game changer,” stated Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald. “As a small rural state, we have too many households and businesses that are not connected to broadband. This affects our bottom line – from education and skills development to entrepreneurship and opportunity. Broadband is no longer a luxury; it is an absolute necessity for individual upward mobility as well as to develop strong and vibrant communities that will attract business and industry to the state.”
On Jan. 7, ARConnect opened the first round of applications for the state’s BEAD infrastructure buildout, calling it “the single largest investment in broadband infrastructure in the state’s history.” At the end of January, state officials said they had received over 814 bids for the first round of BEAD’s funding to build the broadband backbone of 84,000 homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions across the state.
In total, 48 internet service providers (ISPs) and partnerships pre-registered to participate in the state BEAD program. Of those, 29 ISPs and partnerships were based in Arkansas, while 19 ISPs pre-registered nationwide.
ARConnect must submit a “Final Proposal” to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) by October, outlining all grant awards through the program.
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