The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Digital Equity Capacity grants for Florida, Iowa, Montana, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.
Florida will receive approximately $42 million to support private sector and community anchor institution efforts to provide cybersecurity and privacy skills training and to implement subgrants by ConnectedFlorida for programs that encourage digital literacy and digital adoption activities. Iowa will receive $8.44 million to collaborate with public libraries to expand Wi-Fi hotspot lending programs and to establish a virtual training platform to provide cybersecurity training. Montana will receive approximately $7 million to support facility access upgrades for the Montana School for the Deaf & Blind and to connect rural Montanans to workforce development and other essential services through the Montana Prosperity Portal.
NTIA will award the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands $2.1 to support discussions with telehealth and telecommunications providers to establish a robust telehealth network and to form a working group to assess school districts’ current Internet Technology (IT) curriculum. Guam will receive $2.1 million to engage libraries, healthcare providers, and cultural centers for digital navigator programs, free WiFi hotspots, and device distribution.
