- New Mexico was awarded $8.7 million, or less than 1%, of the total Digital Equity Act funding
- The state received 37 applications for funding, totaling more than $14 million
- None of the money has been delivered so groups are turning to ISPs and the state for funding
In 2024, the FBI reported that annual rates of elder fraud increased 14% from 2022 to 2023. Tech support scams and personal data breaches were the top causes, of which there were over 25,000 complaints. These scams culminated in $3.4 billion in losses, averaging about $30,000 per victim. The Digital Equity Act - part of 2021's larger Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) helped fund education programs to prevent fraud. But since President Donald Trump halted funding, ISPs and states are left holding the bag.
One example is Mamacítas Cibernéticas, a grassroots digital literacy organization in southern Doña Ana County, New Mexico, that had relied on Digital Equity Act dollars to pay for $50,000 in staff salaries and expenses annually to educate a bilingual community on cyber awareness. Maria Chaparro, who heads the organization, said it delivers approximately 91 classes to 47 participants in local housing authority and senior living center facilities.
Chaparro had hoped that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) $811 million in Digital Equity funding would help pay her team for providing these services, but the program was suspended on May 9. As such, her grant application for $149,000 across three years was all for naught.
Though 20 states in June filed a lawsuit challenging Trump's moves, arguing that withholding Congressionally-allocated funds is illegal, that's not much help for Chaparro in the short term.
“This was it. This was truly it,” she said. “We don’t have any [of that money].”
ISPs step up — for now
For New Mexicans, there is a faint light at the end of the tunnel — some service providers have funded digital literacy initiatives in rural areas where they offer services.
Comcast’s $1 billion Project UP initiative aims to advance digital equity by providing free Wi-Fi hotspots to schools and community centers as well as a digital navigator program to help folks learn how to access the internet. AT&T and Verizon have similar programs and digital equity goals in place. The former has said it plans to open at least 100 Connected Learning Centers by the end of 2027, while Verizon wants to provide digital skills training to at least 10 million young people by 2030. Whether Trump’s DEI order will change these programs remains to be seen.
In the absence of federal funding, Chaparro thinks that non-profits may have to partner with ISPs to help digital literacy initiatives survive and grow. Plus, some ISPs may want in to expand their marketing and footprint, especially if competition increases when BEAD funding slowly rolls out.
“There is money out there, and it just depends on how hard you want it and need it,” Chaparro said.
The state of the states
Before the Digital Equity Act funding was halted, New Mexico was awarded $8.7 million, or less than 1%, of the total U.S. funding. The state had received 37 applications requesting more than $14 million, said Jeff Lopez, Director of the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE).
Unlike other states, New Mexico could be in a better position to help fund digital literacy programs on its own. In September, it broke ground as the first state in the country to offer universal, free child care to all families. This move indicates state officials may be more inclined to help support some of the digital equity initiatives that are now stranded.
“The OBAE is considering whether to deploy other sources of funding to support digital literacy and digital opportunity that would have been supported by the Digital Equity Act,” he said.
Other states may not be so fortunate. Washington, which planned to use federal funds for a cybersecurity training program, has said it doesn’t have enough funding to replace the canceled grant and will likely have to wait until next year when the state legislature is back in session.
Similarly, the Maine Connectivity Authority said the loss of Digital Equity Act funds will impact roughly 130,000 people in the state, hindering access to education, work and healthcare.