State Digital Equity Work Continues

 You’re reading the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society’s Weekly Digest, a recap of the biggest (or most overlooked) broadband stories of the week. The digest is delivered via e-mail each Friday.

Round-Up for the Week of November 10-14, 2025

State broadband offices have been incredibly busy for, well, years now. At this point, nearly all states and territories have submitted their Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program final proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for review. While they did that, state broadband offices were also advancing their own broadband deployment and digital inclusion initiatives. Some may be old, and some may be new, but all of the following state-run programs have hit the Headlines in recent weeks for their efforts to help close the digital divide.

North Carolina’s Broadband Recovery Program

On November 3, 2025, Governor Josh Stein (D-NC) announced the $50 million Broadband Recovery Program. This program, funded through an appropriation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, aims to restore and strengthen high-speed internet access for communities in western North Carolina that suffered significant damage from Hurricane Helene.

Internet service providers (ISPs) with infrastructure projects in the 39 Hurricane Helene disaster-designated counties, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, may apply for funding to reconstruct or repair broadband infrastructure necessary to connect residents, businesses, and community institutions to reliable high-speed internet.

The Broadband Recovery Program, administered by the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT), prioritizes funding for restoring broadband service, including labor, equipment, materials, construction, and infrastructure costs related to both temporary and permanent restoration of service. In the event of insufficient funding to cover all reimbursement requests, priority may be given to reimbursements for counties with the most significant infrastructure damage.

NCDIT requires that:

• Eligible applicants are providers of broadband infrastructure and services, including cooperatively organized entities.
• Eligible applicants include last-mile or middle-mile broadband providers that provide service in impacted areas, as demonstrated by Broadband Data Collection data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which reflects broadband availability to broadband serviceable locations or community anchor institutions (CAIs) in these areas.
  • Middle-mile providers that provide transport only may also be considered if funding is available.
• Applicants must have had existing broadband infrastructure in western North Carolina prior to Sept. 27, 2024.
• Applicants must have an active Sam.gov registration.

Interested broadband providers may submit applications and estimated costs for the Broadband Recovery Program online by 11:59 p.m. on November 24, 2025, through the Broadband Infrastructure Office Data Exchange.

Illinois’s Eliminating the Digital Divide Fund

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Office of Broadband (IOB) administers the Eliminating the Digital Divide Fund (EDDF), a donation-based fund to sustain digital equity work in Illinois. EDDF originates from the Eliminate the Digital Divide Law, passed in 2001, and updated in 2025. EDDF can be used to support digital equity programming, such as:

• digital skills classes;
• providing free or low-cost devices;
• helping individuals enroll in low-cost internet plans; and
• one-on-one tech support, as well as community tech center support.

Funding the EDDF works in two ways:

1. Philanthropy, the private sector, ISPs, and others can make direct donations.
2. Broadband subscribers can also make donations via their bills. Consumers can opt in to donating as part of their monthly bills, and providers pass on those donations to EDDF every quarter.

These funds are then distributed back to the community through grants to community groups and local initiatives, or statewide digital equity programming and services.

Consumers and ISPs alike have a pivotal role in promoting EDDF and raising awareness about the program. IOB has compiled materials for ISPs to use that can help make consumers aware of EDDF and the opportunity to support the fund via their bills or otherwise, including one-pagers, bill inserts, and more. Consumers can get involved by contacting their ISPs to inform them of EDDF and encourage company participation.

Massachusetts’s Retrofit Ancillary Grantee Program

The Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) launched the Connected and Online Program in October and is making progress with a separate initiative aimed at deploying state-of-the-art broadband infrastructure to public and affordable housing properties across the Commonwealth. The Retrofit Ancillary Grantee (RANGE) Program provides $8 million in grants directly to housing operators already participating in the Residential Retrofit Program, which launched in 2024 and intends to increase opportunities for low-income residents by improving access to high-quality, reliable, and affordable internet service in their homes.

The RANGE Program includes four offerings, and housing operators may apply for up to four uses of funds per development. These uses are:

1. Digital Navigation/Tenant Coordination: Wages for resident liaisons who facilitate communication between ISPs and residents during Retrofit construction and help residents navigate digital tools and services.
2. Digital Literacy and Education: Implement training programs that boost residents’ digital skills.
3. Public Space Improvements: Upgrade shared spaces to support connectivity (e.g., Wi-Fi in lounges and community rooms).
4. Device Distribution: Provide residents with devices, such as laptops or tablets.

MBI will administer three cycles under the RANGE Program. Award amounts will be calibrated in each cycle to ensure applicants in later rounds have equal access to funding, with awards expected to average approximately $200 – $500 per unit for any given development. All projects awarded under this program must be completed by December 31, 2026.

MBI’s third and final cycle of applications for RANGE Program funding opened on October 21 and closes today, November 14, at 11:59 pm EST.

The funding for the Residential Retrofit and RANGE Programs comes from ARPA funds. The project is part of Massachusetts’s $175 million Capital Projects Fund allocation.

Colorado’s Broadband Mini Grant Program

To help the Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) improve broadband coverage in the state, CBO is using funds from ARPA’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF) and the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to offer the Advance Colorado Broadband Mini Grant Program.

CBO has made $800,000 available for Mini Grant Program awards to applicants who are able to propose fiber broadband infrastructure builds capable of providing symmetrical 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) service with less than 100 milliseconds (ms) latency. CBO encourages applicants to offer higher speed service tiers, including symmetrical Gigabit service.

Eligible applicants for the Mini Grant Program are any entities that have previously been awarded a state or federal broadband deployment grant from the CBO, including:

• Internet service providers;
• Local governments;
• Community-based organizations/nonprofits;
• Tribal communities;
• Utility providers; and
• Special partnerships.

A minimum 20 percent match is required for all projects funded by the Mini Grant Program. These projects must be completed by September 30, 2026. The application window for the Mini Grant Program concluded on November 7, and awards will be announced on November 19.

Florida’s Utility Relocation Reimbursement Grant Program

On November 3, FloridaCommerce’s Office of Broadband announced the launch of the Utility Relocation Reimbursement Grant Program (URRGP). URRGP provides funding to reimburse eligible, documented costs incurred by ISPs for the relocation of communications infrastructure, as requested by a county or municipal government.

URRGP was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on June 5, 2025. The program is administered by FloridaCommerce and funded through monthly distributions from the local communications services tax. Relocations must be formally requested by a qualifying entity with a project completion date no earlier than October 1, 2025.

FloridaCommerce is currently developing formal rules for URRGP and creating an online application portal. More information and further instructions will be provided throughout the rulemaking process and once the portal becomes available. For now, the application materials and available information can be found at the Office of Broadband’s website.

State Work Continues

While many states may be expecting to receive their approved BEAD final proposals come December 4, 90 days from the submission deadline of September 4, they may not receive those approvals so soon. While NTIA must complete its own review of submitted draft proposals in a 90-day timeframe, eagle-eyed broadband policy professionals have noted that this does not necessarily include the time it takes the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to complete its own subsequent review. While some states might receive full funding for their BEAD deployment plans by the end of the year, it looks like it’s going to come down to the wire. Nevertheless, states will keep on working on their own digital equity programs like those mentioned here.

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Upcoming Events

Nov 18––Innovation with Integrity: Examining the Risks and Benefits of AI Chatbots (House Commerce Committee)

Nov 20––Effects and Effectiveness: Evaluation Strategies for Digital Inclusion Programs (Benton Institute for Broadband & Society)

Nov 20––November 2025 Open Federal Communications Commission Meeting (Federal Communications Commission)

Dec 17––FCC Oversight Hearing (Senate Commerce Committee)

Dec 18––December 2025 Open Federal Communications Commission Meeting (Federal Communications Commission)

Feb 3-5––Net Inclusion 2026 (National Digital Inclusion Alliance)