Opportunity

Utah has submitted a five-year Digital Equity and Broadband Expansion plan to qualify the State for an anticipated $300MM+ in federal investment. This once-in-a-generation opportunity is expected to start early in 2024. The Center has been actively involved in addressing the community and underserved voices in that discussion, and creating the Utah Digital Opportunity Network (UDON) will establish a permanent platform for those voices. View the UDON website here.

Team

The Center for Economic Opportunity and Belonging and The Utah Broadband Center.

Work

The State’s plans outline several efforts to receive and act on community feedback and to co-design solutions to existing digital equity gaps. The Utah Broadband Office contracted the Center to form a community-centered digital equity coalition to accomplish the following main goals:

» Establishment of a centralized contact point for all digital equity endeavors

» Digital Asset & Resource Management

» Gap Analysis and Recommendations

» Community capacity growth

» UDON was launched in late Winter 2023

Outcomes

» Official UDON Website/State Digital Asset Map Launch in April 2024

» Average of 30 participants in monthly UDON Resource Meetings

» Incorporated into the state plans as a Community of Practice

» Assisted with the State Broadband Challenge Process

» Over 80 coalition members