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In May, the U.S. Department of Commerce terminated multiple Digital Equity Act programs, rescinding grants to 56 states and territories, and eliminating around $30.8 million in funds for digital skills programs across Arkansas. But digital advocates are still pushing to ensure Arkansas’ entire population can take advantage of expanding broadband internet access.

The lost funding was bookmarked for Arkansas’ Digital Skills & Opportunity Plan, including grants for free Wi-Fi expansion, device refurbishment and distribution, and multilingual training, among many other goals.

The cuts included $10.1 million already distributed to the Arkansas State Broadband Office, an additional $7 million set to be distributed over the next two years, $10.7 million for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ health-related broadband programs and around $3 million in Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program funds.

And the National Telecommunications & Information Administration estimates that 87% of Arkansans fall into at least one federally defined population most impacted by the digital divide.

“The need to teach and train digital skills in Arkansas remains high,” said Hunter Goodman, assistant professor and broadband lead at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. “The state is making an unbelievable investment in digital infrastructure, but to fully realize that access, every Arkansan has to be able to use it, and to use it, they have to have the proper digital skills.”

Despite the funding cuts, work is still being done by community advocates and the state Broadband Office, according to Tomekia Moore, executive director of the Arkansas Community Action Agencies Association (ACAAA).

“We’re coming together in ways now that we never have before,” Moore said. She has met with the state Broadband Office, the University of Arkansas, direct service provider organizations, library systems and internet service providers (ISPs) about digital access. “Even though that piece has been defunded, it’s not dead in the water.”

She said the state has a “brain trust” approaching this issue, and that the shift to a more collaborative approach has happened within the last few years.

One such collaboration is the Arkansas Pathways to Self-Sufficiency program, a statewide coalition of more than 54 organizations that the ACAAA launched in July. The program has nine task forces, one of which is aimed at improving digital equity and access.

Moore also said organizations like hers are building relationships with ISPs and working alongside industry leaders to reduce digital skill deficits.

And she said there are multiple viable options on the table for continuing digital skills training, though she declined to share specifics of what those options are.

Goodman said that the state Broadband Office has facilitated “terrific” county committees, and that part of moving forward is standing by those committees for specific strategies, as well as searching for alternative funding sources.

Regardless of how the state moves forward, Goodman and Moore believe digital skills training is a necessity, especially from a workforce development perspective. Moore said there are Arkansas residents who may not know how to make a resume online or use LinkedIn.

“These are actual skills that need to be built across our workforce,” Moore said. And Goodman agrees.

“It’s important to pivot and remain true to the fact that Arkansans need digital skills in order to realize the full investment of broadband infrastructure in the state,” Goodman said. “That is our guiding light.”

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