Broadband

Idaho County took a step forward with the broadband project between Grangeville and Orofino with an $11.5 million fiber-optic conduit grant from the Idaho Broadband Advisory Board. A $14.5 million grant was awarded in November.

Plus, a new survey has found that more than 80 percent of respondents have high-speed Internet through fiber; the Pittsburgh Digital Equity Coalition has released a new strategic plan; and more.

The county has secured $15 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money to expand broadband infrastructure and improve Internet access for county residents. The county was selected from a pool of more than 113 applications.

The grant award to Dairyland Power Cooperative comes through the National Telecommunications & Information Administration. Dairyland will supply the infrastructure groundwork for others to bring broadband Internet to rural areas.

The new facility will improve the performance of regional Internet services and allow local and regional networks to exchange data traffic, cloud services and content networks with each other.

Plus, the New York State Library is preparing to hold a digital equity roundtable, a report details the lack of Internet at rural Pennsylvania schools, and more.

Commissioners gave county staff approval this week to amend the county's existing contract with cable and Internet provider Spectrum to extend digital access to nearly 1,800 more households in unincorporated areas.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is moving forward with plans for guaranteed high-speed Internet access for all residents of the state. Two draft plans have been released for public input.

Nationally, 13.4 percent of rural households lack the minimum necessary broadband connection for streaming educational videos or virtual classrooms, according to the National Rural Education Association.

Plus, Maryland to put $27 million toward getting Internet devices for residents of underserved households, Colorado releases a new broadband workforce plan, and more.

Altafiber has spent $2.3 million of a $10 million contract with Butler County to connect residents to high-speed Internet. Officials say around 20,000 people will be online by the end of the year.

Through October 2023, only 296,000 households of the more than 1.1 million eligible in the state have enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program, according to the White House.

Every state is poised to receive a large amount of federal money to expand broadband access, but they have a lot of work to do to meet the government’s requirements for distributing it.

Boyd, Carter and Rowan counties are among the counties to benefit from a $30.7 million project to expand broadband access to approximately 33,000 households across 16 counties and 196 communities.

Plus, support for continued ACP funding continues to grow; the FCC adopted final rules on digital discrimination; HUD has unveiled a streamlined enrollment process for the ACP; and more.

U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers announced a $30.7 million grant to expand broadband services across the most rural parts of the state. Rogers said the infrastructure is a necessary part of building Kentucky’s answer to Silicon Valley.

Federal officials say that Louisiana has completed seven of eight requirements — more than any other state — toward awarding construction contracts that will deliver high-speed Internet.

Programs that subsidize Internet service for schools, libraries and low-income households hang in the balance under litigation by the nonprofit Consumers’ Research, which argues the FCC was not authorized to raise fees on phone calls.