Broadband & Network
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Plus, new legislation would revive the FCC’s equity council if enacted, a report reveals connectivity gaps in tribal communities, some municipal broadband networks outperform their competitors, and more. -
County commissioners got a revised schedule for federally funded broadband work. Service provider contracts remain to be signed, and construction is slated to wrap by the end of 2029.
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The Trump administration has asserted for months that its “bargain” version of the federal $42.5 billion grant program to expand access to broadband Internet would save taxpayers money.
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As students from more populous, wealthier districts pivoted to online learning after the state ordered school closures to facilitate social distancing, poorer districts, especially those in rural areas, were scrambling.
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The tool was developed by the Public Service Commission’s State Broadband Office and the Department of Public Instruction, which said many students lack access at a time of increased need.
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Kansas' Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library is offering Internet access by repurposing bookmobiles as Wi-Fi hotspots. The vehicles are placed in public areas that lack access to the Internet.
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With in-person gatherings curtailed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional spring hearings held in each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties have been replaced entirely with an online survey.
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The city of Springfield, Ill., on Monday gave 1,000 newly purchased Verizon Jetpacks — which are mobile Internet hot spots — to District 186 for students who need Internet access at home amid the pandemic.
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The federal government’s definition of what constitutes adequate broadband service has been redefined, a needed upgrade that comes thanks to legislation recently signed into law by President Donald Trump.
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A new mobile-friendly website went online Wednesday to accommodate incalculable numbers of people applying in the wake of the coronavirus who have been unable to break through on the state’s troubled CONNECT system.
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4-H and Microsoft released a report that captures how much broadband can mean to youth and their communities. Teens who lack Internet access were shown to be less optimistic than their peers.
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The network is designed to provide redundancy for communities that experience regular outages. It also fills a need for high-quality, affordable broadband lacking in many rural areas, government officials said.
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The Knox County, Ill., Health Department will receive $592,520 in federal grant money as part of $4.5 million awarded to its congressional district through the Department of Health and Human Services to combat COVID-19.
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Free Wi-Fi will soon be available at several locations throughout Santa Fe, N.M., despite voiced reservations about the project from some of the city councilors who ended up voting for it anyway.
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Like many government meetings, Florida’s Miami-Dade region has gone online for health and safety reasons. The only problem with virtual meetings is that those without access to technology cannot participate.
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The state budget roundtable that will offer a first look at what’s expected to be a colossal collapse in state tax revenues was postponed after officials failed to get the live stream technology functional.
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Columbus Schools — the state's largest district, with about 50,000 students — has gone online, with staff doling out 15,480 laptops to families over 10 days, training teachers, and assigning students email addresses.
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Work to bridge the digital divide has gained momentum in recent years in state and local government, and it may be boosted further by the novel coronavirus reinforcing the importance of having the Internet at home.
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Advocates and government staffers in the broadband and digital equity space say there is a renewed interest in supporting their work, with shelter-at-home orders emphasizing the need to bridge digital divides.
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Communities in rural parts of Indiana are among those lacking Internet access. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed society to rely on the Internet, but many rural households struggle to connect online.
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About 14,700 kids in Philadelphia didn’t own a computer in 2018, and thousands more lack the Internet connection they need to learn from home, as more than 21,500 kids did not have an Internet subscription.
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