Broadband

Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are working to avert the loss of the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to auction the radio waves used for broadcast television, mobile phone and broadband services.

Ohio digital inclusion advocates are working hard to make sure that rural communities in the state have the best weapon for getting high-speed Internet — communities that know Internet matters.

Plus, Colorado launches a statewide program to get more people signed up for the Affordable Connectivity Program; Georgia is announcing expanded broadband funding; Connecticut suffers an Internet outage; and more.

A coalition of education advocacy groups have asked the FCC to allow schools to use federal E-rate funding to strengthen their IT security infrastructure amid an onslaught of cyber attacks targeting the education sector.

The USDA grant will cover about 75 percent of the expansion costs with the provider investing the remainder to expand its all-fiber optic to approximately 3,500 locations across three underserved counties.

If Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., have their way, any broadband company that wants to use federal money to provide service in rural areas must be screened very carefully.

A new report commissioned by the Maine Connectivity Authority said the state is already expected to have a shortfall of 3,240 workers in broadband jobs. The figure casts a shadow on the goal of connecting every part of the state.

Plus, more states are holding in-person events to stoke citizen participation in their connectivity work, President Biden's long-delayed fifth FCC commissioner nominee gets a hearing, and more.

Seventy one percent of households in the county have access to broadband Internet service. Officials want that number to be even higher, despite the substantial costs associated with the buildout.

Plus, the Rural Broadband Association submits a list of priorities to the new Congress; the Department of Defense and NTIA host a 5G challenge; the Texas Library Commission is collecting data about Internet speeds; and more!

In an effort to bridge the digital divide, library officials will be handing out hot spots, tablets and laptops. The devices were paid for by a $548,100 grant from the Federal Communications Commission.

Plus, a bipartisan group of senators reintroduces legislation that would increase access to rural broadband; the Biden administration announces $33.5M of Internet grants for universities; and more.

The California Public Utilities Commission has bestowed the city with a $493 million grant to further establish broadband access for unserved and underserved residents and businesses within Vacaville.

Under the terms of a newly approved franchising policy in Hanceville, Ala., Internet service providers that use city right of way will pay 5 percent of their annual gross income to the city for maintenance.

The U.S. Department of Commerce awarded Coppin State University a $3.9 million grant that will support the expansion of broadband Internet access in West Baltimore, where access is less common.

Funding from the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC), part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Internet for All initiative, will help expand access to high-speed Internet and tech for online learning.

The state will receive $363 million in federal grants to increase access to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet to more than 150,000 homes and businesses, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.

Roughly 116,000 homes and businesses in Maine do not have broadband service, according to federal data. The grants announced this week will expand service to more than 16,000 homes and businesses in nine counties.