Broadband

A $45.5 million grant from the state and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute will pay for high-speed Internet for Pioneer Valley communities. Four Internet service providers will make the installations in about 2,000 locations.

Whitfield County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jevin Jensen recently said that no resident within the county should be "left behind" when it comes to broadband Internet access.

The Statewide Education Network will create an internal system for sharing classes, educational materials and other resources. All of the state's districts and charter schools are expected to join the network by 2027.

A grant of nearly $3.8 million from the Nebraska Capital Projects Fund will deliver fiber optics to a 70-square-mile area around Stromsburg and southwest Osceola. It includes 176 homes deemed “unserved” by fiber.

A Digital Champion grant will allow Haywood Community College in North Carolina to develop curriculum for local education sites and hire a full-time digital navigator to provide digital literacy skills for the community.

The county has received nearly $700,000 from the state Completing Access to Broadband program. With matching money from the county, the money should enable 915 businesses and homeowners to access high-speed Internet.

Plus, more initial proposals for BEAD funding have been approved, census data reveals insights on the digital divide, and more.

The Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board is seeking help from Cayuga and two other counties in its pursuit of a $29.5 million state grant to bring broadband to unserved areas.

The Syracuse City Council is considering resolutions to let it use a $10.8 million state grant to build out infrastructure, bringing Surge Link broadband to about 4,700 low-income households.

The money, to be disbursed over the next five years, was activated by National Telecommunications and Information Administration approval of the state’s high-speed Internet spending plan.

Many rural families are having to make do with mobile hotspots, while a recent report by the Legislative Auditor's Office show some planned broadband projects have yet to enter the construction phase.

The economic development corporation in the county has worked with county GIS, an area planning board and the state to push out high-speed Internet to roughly 4 percent of households without it.

Plus, Indiana is getting more than $81 million in broadband funding, new research suggests AI is directly related to digital equity, and more.

The county, southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul, will use $1 million of the $2.5 million in federal funding to expand broadband access countywide. Among other work, its Sheriff’s Office will get $500,000 for records management.

A study by the Bureau of Sociological Research found the vast majority of 1,450 Nebraskans surveyed considered their home Internet service to be very reliable. But where they lived played a large role in their answers.

After delays in permitting, construction has started on the $50 million Vexus Fiber network. The company and city reached a franchise agreement in March 2022, and installation is expected to be fully completed during the next three years.

The funding from the Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program is aimed at bringing Internet to more than 34,000 locations in 54 counties. Service providers and others can access it with a 20 percent match.

A multibillion-dollar plan to develop 10,000 miles of broadband infrastructure has hit financial headwinds, forcing the state to consider what not to build. Some construction is already underway.