Broadband

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke signed bills establishing a state Broadband Office and expanding digital literacy services. The new office will ensure high-speed Internet reaches the underserved statewide.

Federal officials have unveiled widely anticipated revisions regarding the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. States had paused some activities in anticipation of the changes.

Two routes that will run underneath the lake, bringing faster Internet to thousands of Michiganders and connecting Benton Harbor to Chicago, are in environmental review and engineering.

Plus, a second FCC commissioner has announced his departure, a survey reveals a major area lacking in digital accessibility efforts, local governments are expanding their fiber networks, and more.

The Residential Retrofit Program of Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Massachusetts Broadband Institute, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, has delivered high-speed Internet to an apartment complex in Springfield.

The Freestate Middle Mile Network ultimately will deploy 682 miles of fiber with funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. A goal is for Kansas to be among the top 10 states for broadband access by 2030.

Plus, Hawaii students were recognized for their contributions to broadband data mapping work, a report shows more than half of New Yorkers use free public Wi-Fi, another shows progress in rural broadband expansion, and more.

Free public Wi-Fi hosted by cities is booming, boosting digital access. But as reliance grows, so do cybersecurity risks like "evil twin" attacks. Can cities truly make free Wi-Fi safe?

Thanks to a partnership between Comcast, the state of California and Fresno County, reliable Internet access is now available to students and their families in rural areas, decreasing the digital divide.

Members of the Hoopa Valley and Yurok tribes are expected to commence work this summer on expanding Internet access in their regions. The work is the first joint-build agreement between a tribe and the state.

With a pilot area built, crews will expand north of Belknap Street, where fiber enters the city from Duluth, Minn. Officials have allocated $5 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act money to the project.

State and local entities had already begun to receive grant awards to teach digital skills and provide connectivity and devices for underserved people, including K-12 students, when the program was canceled last week.

The federal agency is cautioning residents and business owners that old “end of life” routers are prime targets for bad actors capable of infecting them with malware. The FBI advises they be replaced immediately.

Preorders have opened prior to construction, enabling officials in the city of more than 21,000 to ensure the network will pay for itself. Willmar has partnered with Silverlight Fiber Network, an aggregate Internet service provider.

President Donald Trump has called for ending the Digital Equity Act, which Congress passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, referring to it as unconstitutional. Advocates respond and examine what that could mean.

A presentation by the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative this week introduced ninth and 10th graders to potential jobs associated with broadband, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

The acting director of New Mexico's central broadband office returned to his previous position with the agency after the governor’s office decided to go in a "different direction" in its search for a permanent director.

Plus, Idaho will soon end its digital navigator helpline, an Illinois county is distributing software licenses for digital skills training, Cleveland State University supports digital skills and more.