State of Rhode Island Digital Equity Plan draft for public comment (January 9, 2024)
Rhode Island’s overarching vision and goal for statewide broadband and digital equity is to leverage a best-in-class, resilient, sustainable, and scalable broadband infrastructure to propel the state’s 21st century economic, education, healthcare, civic and social engagement, and quality of life, by ensuring all Rhode Islanders have access to affordable, accessible high-speed internet in their homes, at their places of employment, and at public facilities by 2027.
This vision is shared across Rhode Island’s ConnectRI initiative, which includes the Corporation established to develop and manage the State’s Digital Equity Plan, BEAD program, and investments funded through the Capital Projects Fund (CPF). These programs are complementary, with BEAD and CPF funding being largely leveraged for expanding robust, affordable broadband services, while DEA funding generally covers the social components to ensure digital resources are accessible and inclusive to all. The Corporation will strategically combine and coordinate the use of the State’s Digital Equity Capacity Grant, BEAD allocation, and other funding sources to achieve this vision and its objectives for digital equity. The Corporation recognizes that the issues that the BEAD and DEA programs seek to resolve are interconnected, and therefore the success of either program is dependent on the success of the other—broadband infrastructure must be accompanied by digital equity activities, and digital equity must include affordable broadband deployment.
In this spirit, the Rhode Island Digital Equity Plan establishes a complementary set of goals and strategies for digital inclusion and equity, designed to align with the DEA’s Measurable Objectives categories, the elements of digital equity that states are required to document and promote among each Covered Population.
As the State’s Administering Entity for both BEAD and DEA programs, the Corporation will ensure the coordinated deployment of all federal funding sources to achieve these goals and strategies. Rhode Island’s Digital Equity Capacity Grant will fund the Implementation Strategy activities outlined in this plan.