Trump Policies Might Delay Efforts to Close the Broadband Divide by Years

All across the country, a group of connectivity experts teaches locals, old and young, about the benefits of getting online. These workers, called Digital Navigators, link people in the community with the resources and opportunities they don't know exist, like arranging online health appointments, applying for jobs, doing homework and making their businesses visible on the internet. But the grant funding the Digital Navigators is one of many programs currently at risk. Under the Biden administration, infrastructure and COVID pandemic recovery bills included $90 billion in federal funding meant to link Americans to high-speed internet. But now, President Donald Trump's latest policy changes and executive orders are disrupting progress and causing uncertainty. From what internet industry insiders can tell, the regulators under the Trump administration seemingly want to change how that money is allocated to internet providers. If you thought fiber expansion efforts were slow before, exp ... Read full article.