Broadband

Carlsbad's Viasat said that it expects to begin launching its next-generation broadband Internet satellite constellation early next year — marking another delay in getting the terabyte-class satellites into orbit.

Merced County, Calif., is working to collect the community feedback that officials there need to inform their efforts to improve the broadband services for the entire county and the six cities located there.

Work on the Lowndes County fiber-optic network will be done by ISP Windstream and is slated to start in 2023 – a 2026 completion deadline has been set by Gov. Brian Kemp. The project consists of some 900 miles of fiber-optic lines.

New York City Office of Technology and Innovation recently released its strategic plan that looks to improve the city’s overall posture in the technology space — starting with an effort to improve technical literacy.

Joplin city officials agreed Monday night to proceed with a search for potential broadband providers, with the City Council approving a paid consultant to issue a request for proposals for Internet service.

The Latah County Broadband Coalition is hoping that people in that area will participate in this effort so the county can qualify for more funding to bring broadband Internet to rural households.

Plus, New York program submits 31,000 unserved addresses to help inform broadband mapping effort, a new report outlines how policymakers can support libraries working to foster digital equity, and more.

A grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Connecting Minority Communities Program will allow the southwest Georgia university to improve its broadband infrastructure and hire and train IT personnel.

Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties, along with the Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments, are working together on this initiative to expand broadband needs to underserved populations within the area.

Residents in rural and urban areas across the state are being encouraged to test their Wi-Fi connections and submit results that will be formulated into a map to inform future broadband funding.

Plus, the General Services Administration is working to ensure that the American Rescue Plan will advance equitable outcomes, the federal government is expanding its TechWomen mentor program, and more.

The Biden administration is awarding Michigan service providers $55.7 million through a grant and loan program to bring high-speed Internet access to those without it in rural areas of the state.

Officials in Washington County are continuing to press ahead with an ambitious high-speed Internet access expansion plan by earmarking up to $50 million to connect 5,000 homes, schools and businesses.

Decatur Utilities took a step toward a public fiber-optic broadband Internet system this week when it hired a consultant to do a financial analysis of the project, one of several expenditures the board approved Monday.

Rather than laying a lot of new fiber lines to homes and far flung farm sites under the ground, a new project uses a system of towers and antennas to get high bandwidth signals to customers in rural areas.

While cities are limited in the restrictions they can place on 5G infrastructure by federal law, Ashland residents are urging officials to take action on an ordinance that would guide where and how 5G cellphone towers are built.

Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez said the project was a priority for him and the city commission after Brownsville was twice consecutively ranked among the least connected places in the United States.

Lynbrook, N.Y.'s Internet Outage Continuity Plan takes an in-depth look at how the local government can maintain critical services — even in the face of a six-month-long Internet outage.