How States Can Close the Broadband Adoption Gap Amid Equity Grant Cuts

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Greg Davis, CEO at Bigleaf Networks

When federal grants under the Digital Equity Act were rescinded in mid-May, it removed more than $1 billion that had already been incorporated into state planning. Pennsylvania alone watched $35 million vanish overnight—money that local officials had earmarked for public Wi-Fi, digital-skills coaches, and devices for low-income families.

While the infrastructure money (BEAD and other capital programs) still flows, the tools that teach people how to use that same infrastructure are suddenly gone. In many rural and underserved regions, the physical network often reaches the curb, but without corresponding investments in affordability and digital onboarding, those connections go underused. This is especially visible in sectors like healthcare and emergency services, where reliable access is essential. The result isn’t just lower adoption rates. It’s a service gap with real-world consequences. Broadband equity lives or dies on adoption, and it’s crucial to understand that adoption hinges on skills, affordability, and trust.

Infrastructure Alone Doesn’t Equal Access

Federal broadband investments often emphasize infrastructure milestones like fiber installation or tower deployment. However, infrastructure alone does not guarantee meaningful use. Without sustained support for digital skills training and access programs, many users remain unable to take full advantage of these networks for essential tasks, whether applying for healthcare services, searching for jobs, or completing schoolwork. In Pennsylvania, three years of county-level planning ended in an instant; groups that had lined up coding classes and multilingual help desks must either refund vendors or shelve the idea indefinitely.

Years of research echo the same warning: physical connectivity alone does not create digital equity. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance calls it the “last-mile inside the home”—the crucial gap between having a signal in the street and using it safely and effectively on the living room couch. The 2021 Digital Equity Act was a landmark achievement precisely because it recognized this and paired billions for fiber optic cables with essential funding for local trainers and support. By recently severing that link, we have turned a powerful investment into a hollow promise. The return on billions of dollars of infrastructure is now at risk, delayed indefinitely until we bridge that final, human-powered mile.

Defunding Public Wi-Fi Leaves Whole Communities Offline

The canceled digital-equity grants were never just about PowerPoint lessons; they kept thousands of free hotspots in libraries, transit hubs, senior centers, and rural clinics online. When that plug is pulled, lifelines stop. In southeastern Colorado, for example, local officials recall parents who had to drive their children to Walmart or library parking lots to capture a strong enough signal for homework during the pandemic—an emergency workaround that still resurfaces whenever a family’s data cap runs dry. Those outdoor Wi-Fi nodes, maintained with federal digital-equity dollars, will go dark the moment the next invoice goes unpaid.

Public networks often serve as the critical fallback when home broadband is unaffordable or mobile data limits are exhausted, especially in rural and economically constrained areas. These shared access points help maintain connectivity for job searches, healthcare portals, and remote education. When funding for such infrastructure disappears, it risks reversing measurable progress in broadband availability and narrowing the practical reach of existing network investments.

Internet Affordability and Reliability Remain Unsolved Problems

Coverage maps show fewer white spots every quarter, yet twenty-eight million Americans still sit offline at home. Only a sliver (less than 3%) lack service because no provider reaches their address. The far bigger barrier is price. The NCFR finds that more than 60% of offline households cite monthly cost as the wall they cannot climb. Reliability runs a close second; when speeds sag below promised thresholds or outages drag past the school bell, families decide that $70 a month is a gamble not worth taking.

The now-defunct Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) had begun to chip away at that dilemma with a $30 monthly credit. Its lapse in April exposed how thin the margin is: ISPs reported a spike in disconnect notices within weeks. For many communities, price remains a practical barrier to connectivity that cannot be solved through competition alone. Addressing affordability will likely require targeted public and private initiatives.

States Can Lead the Charge with Smarter, Localized Investments

Those DC retreats do not absolve governors of responsibility. In fact, they must open a chance to build nimbler, locally informed programs that avoid federal one-size-fits-all quirks. A perfect example is Texas. After finishing its BEAD modeling under budget, the state found itself with a surplus and sketched a three-year affordability plan: use leftover funds to underwrite the very same $30 discount the ACP once provided—no new taxes, no fresh bureaucracy. This goes to show that if people in power already know where the gaps are, money should be aimed at recurring bills, not just conduit and concrete.

Pennsylvania could do the same by matching county relief funds with private-sector concessions. Large providers willingly chip in when state leaders streamline pole-attachment rules or expedite rights-of-way. Smaller electric co-ops, flush with Inflation Reduction Act energy grants, want to lease their middle-mile fiber to school districts at cost—if someone covers the splicing. Most of those deals stall because a modest operational subsidy is missing. Replace the lost Digital Equity money with a state-level kitty—funded through unspent ARPA dollars or low-interest municipal bonds—and the spreadsheets align again.

Smart states will also double down on trusted conveners. Libraries already have the rooms, routers, and reputation to teach safe surfing; workforce boards already run résumé workshops. What they lack is a modest line item for staff hours and a backhaul circuit. Seed that operating budget, then measure success in job placements and telehealth logins rather than miles of trench.

Finally, states must legislate reliability the same way they do water purity or road safety. Requiring uptime transparency and enforcing credits for missed service gives households confidence that the bill they pay buys them something sturdier than best-effort bandwidth. Several Appalachian counties negotiate performance clauses in franchise renewals today; codify those clauses statewide, and you tilt the bargaining table toward users.

Closing the Gap Requires More Than Laying Fiber

Expanding broadband access involves more than putting cables in the ground. The loss of digital equity funding exposed a deeper truth: meaningful connectivity relies on sustained investment in affordability, digital literacy, and network reliability. Without these supports, many communities will remain disconnected in practice, even when infrastructure is present.

States now have an opportunity to act with purpose. By building targeted programs that match real-world needs, they can reinforce the value of existing networks and help residents fully participate in work, education, and healthcare. Supporting public Wi-Fi, investing in digital training, and strengthening service standards will make a lasting difference.

Broadband access is no longer only about availability. It is about ensuring every household has the tools, knowledge, and confidence to use the internet in ways that improve daily life. The most effective strategies will come from those who treat internet access as a foundation for opportunity, not just a matter of coverage.

About the Author

Greg is the CEO of Bigleaf Networks and has served on the board of directors since 2020. He has a consistent track record of scaling businesses and creating enterprise value through revenue growth, operational performance, and strategic acquisitions. Greg’s technology leadership career spans more than 25 years, where he has led multiple companies from start-up to over $100 million in annual revenue. Prior to Bigleaf, Greg served as COO at HungerRush, a national leader in hospitality software. Prior to HungerRush, Greg spent eight years as EVP of Sales at Alert Logic, where he led sales, marketing, and other key areas of the business.

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Categories: Federal contracts · Fiber Networks · FTTH · Industry Viewpoint