Trump admin tells Pennsylvania, other states to shift broadband focus to cheaper options like Elon Musk’s Starlink; ABC27, June 17, 2025

Charlotte Keith of Spotlight PA via ABC27 , ABC27; Trump admin tells Pennsylvania, other states to shift broadband focus to cheaper options like Elon Musk’s Starlink

[Kip Currier: Consider how ill-advised and short-sighted this Trump 2.0 policy maneuver is; a gambit with concerning ramifications for Internet access throughout the U.S.:

First, as part of his DEI purges, Trump terminates the Digital Equity Act of 2021 on May 9, 2025 with an executive order, claiming that the bi-partisan law, signed by Joe Biden, for expanding high speed Internet access to millions of Americans (especially rural Americans) was unconstitutional and "racist".

Now, in June 2025 Trump encourages states to sign on to billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink satellite service. Musk's DOGE cuts have decimated government services.

As the nonpartisan, nonprofit newsroom Spotlight PA points out in this article, too, Musk's Starlink Internet access and other carriers being pushed by the Trump administration rely on less reliable WiFi and satellite service, rather than "the internet via fiber optic cables, widely considered the gold standard for speed and reliability." 

Given Musk's recent tantrum during his early June dust-up with Trump in which Musk threatened to discontinue making his SpaceX Dragon spacecraft available to the U.S., does it seem like a well-advised policy decision to give Musk the power to control the Internet access of hundreds of thousands if not millions of Americans?]

[Excerpt]

"Sweeping changes are coming to a massive program that aims to bring high-speed internet to everyone in the U.S., after the Trump administration rejected one of the initiative’s key policy goals.

The new rules for the $42.5 billion program change the way states will evaluate competing proposals, which areas are eligible for funding, and how long states have to award the grants. The announcement in early June upended months of planning and left Pennsylvania officials scrambling as they race to meet a newly accelerated timeline for getting the money out.

The changes likely will result in fewer Pennsylvanians in remote and rural areas being connected to the internet via fiber optic cables, widely considered the gold standard for speed and reliability. The program originally prioritized fiber projects, but under the new rules, states must select winners based on the lowest cost. The change will make applications from wireless and satellite internet providers, including Elon Musk’s Starlink, more competitive."

'We had lots of dreams'; Idaho's library system ends, restructures programs amid federal funding cuts; Idaho Press, June 14, 2025

LAURA GUIDO , Idaho Press; 'We had lots of dreams'; Idaho's library system ends, restructures programs amid federal funding cuts

[Kip Currier: The Digital Equity Act of 2021 would have helped millions of Americans -- like the millions of Idahoans referenced in this Idaho Press article -- to finally have high quality Internet access.

Sadly, those Internet access plans all came crashing down when the Trump administration declared the Act unconstitutional and "racist". As PBS reported on May 25, 2025:

"One program distributes laptops in rural Iowa. Another helped people get back online after Hurricane Helene washed away computers and phones in western North Carolina. Programs in Oregon and rural Alabama teach older people, including some who have never touched a computer, how to navigate in an increasingly digital world.

It all came crashing down this month when President Donald Trump — on his own digital platform, Truth Social — announced his intention to end the Digital Equity Act, a federal grant program meant to help bridge the digital divide. He branded it as “RACIST and ILLEGAL” and said it amounts to “woke handouts based on race.” He said it was an “ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway,” though the program was actually funded with $2.75 billion.

The name seemed innocuous enough when the program was approved by Congress in 2021 as part of a $65 billion investment meant to bring internet access to every home and business in the United States. The broadband program itself was a key component of the $1 trillion infrastructure law pushed through by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden."

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-digital-equity-act-tried-to-close-the-digital-divide-trump-targets-it-in-his-war-on-woke 

 

[Excerpt]

"Digital Access for All Idahoans

The commission has ended its nearly four-year effort to improve internet accessibility across the state following the termination of a grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; the current presidential administration declared the grant, first awarded to Idaho in 2022, unconstitutional.

“On May 9, everything was canceled, and that was a pretty major initiative we’ve been undertaking,” Deputy State Librarian Dylan Baker told the board. “We were really … on the cusp of working through the subgrant process.”

The library commissioners first announced the Digital Access for All Idahoans plan in 2021, with a plan to use the federal grant to both improve access to the internet and improve the skills to navigate it confidently — the libraries focused primarily on the skills aspect of access.

Idaho had been awarded $6.3 million total, with more than $2.3 million slated to go to the first round of subgrantees that included libraries, community colleges, nonprofits and other state agencies, according to board documents.

Nearly 200,000 Idahoans were expected to be reached in 61 cities and towns in 30 counties, the board documents said."

The Digital Equity Act tried to close the digital divide. Trump calls it racist and acts to end it; AP via ABC News, May 25, 2025

BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press and CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press via ABC News; The Digital Equity Act tried to close the digital divide. Trump calls it racist and acts to end it

[Kip Currier: Access to information and technology is essential for providing more and better opportunities for every child and adult throughout America and the world. The Digital Equity Act of 2021 was a bi-partisan effort to promote access to information and technology and to bridge ongoing Digital Divides that exist in rural, suburban, and urban parts of America.

How absurd and moronic it is then that the current administration would intentionally mischaracterize the Digital Equity Act as "woke" and "racist".

How tragic and destructive it is that Trump's actions have halted the myriad good things that this law was set to continue to achieve in the near future for so many Americans of all kinds. In Blue States, Purple States, and Red States.]

[Excerpt]

"One program distributes laptops in rural Iowa. Another helped people get back online after Hurricane Helene washed away computers and phones in western North Carolina. Programs in Oregon and rural Alabama teach older people, including some who have never touched a computer, how to navigate in an increasingly digital world.

It all came crashing down this month when President Donald Trump — on his own digital platform, Truth Social — announced his intention to end the Digital Equity Act, a federal grant program meant to help bridge the digital divide. He branded it as “RACIST and ILLEGAL” and said it amounts to “woke handouts based on race.” He said it was an “ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway," though the program was actually funded with $2.75 billion.

The name seemed innocuous enough when the program was approved by Congress in 2021 as part of a $65 billion investment meant to bring internet access to every home and business in the United States. The broadband program itself was a key component of the $1 trillion infrastructure law pushed through by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden."

What Libraries Need to Know about the Digital Equity Act; American Libraries, December 28, 2021

Michelle Frisque, American Libraries ; What Libraries Need to Know about the Digital Equity Act

Tips to maximize support and funding for your library’s digital inclusion goals

"What does the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) mean for libraries?

Signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, 2021, IIJA includes a historic investment in advancing digital equity and an opportunity for libraries to leverage and expand their roles in that work.

The Digital Equity Act (DEA), a provision within IIJA, includes a federal investment of $2.75 billion over five years to promote digital equity, literacy, and inclusion initiatives at the local, state, and national levels. Libraries of all types will be eligible to apply.

As DEA states, broadband connections are critical for participation in society, the economy, civic institutions, health care, education, and digital careers."