Broadband

We run down a list of some of the government actions taking place for the week. Plus, Kansas releases its broadband digital equity plan for public comment, and a research program seeks to advance health equity.

A federal grant is helping to fund efforts to connect residents with affordable Internet service. Several community groups are involved in the work, which includes assistance navigating Affordable Connectivity Program eligibility.

On their annual tour of the state, administrators from the University of Illinois system are meeting with schools and local leaders to coordinate efforts to help families and small businesses get high-speed Internet.

Some $3.1 million of the $6.3 million budget under consideration is slated for a project to install fiber-optic cables in the rural area between Ariel and Cougar. The project is currently in the engineering phase.

Plus, the federal digital discrimination task force is holding a listening session this week in New York City; Charlotte is launching a pilot program to increase tech transparency; and more.

Federal funds are helping rural southwest Wisconsin expand access to Internet service. The Reedsburg Utility Commission received a $28 million loan in August for nine underground fiber-optic projects.

With state funding from the Department of Development, Ohio State University will connect high-speed Internet to a site that will be used as a demonstration area and proving grounds for autonomous farming equipment.

Bamberg County is working to develop a broadband system that will make high-speed Internet affordable for underserved communities with the help of a $12 million federal grant.

Plus, Maryland’s governor attends an ACP training session; Seattle has opened applications for its annual digital equity grants; new findings about Internet access; and much more.

The damage to an undersea fiber-optic cable happened in the middle of June when sea ice severed the cable, causing Internet and cell outages in several North Slope and Northwest Arctic communities.

Residents of the state will have until Oct. 10 to weigh in on a proposed five-year plan to upgrade broadband Internet availability, reliability and affordability statewide.

Plus, New Mexico’s broadband director is retiring, California has a new public broadband services bill and applications are open for the National Digital Inclusion Alliance’s 2023 digital trailblazers program.

With online resources being increasingly necessary for school work, a nation-wide T-Mobile program is offering free Internet connectivity and mobile hotspots to up to 10 million eligible K-12 student households.

A little over a year after becoming head of the state's new broadband division, Director Kelly Schlegel is retiring, with a last day set for the end of this week, the governor’s office has announced.

Experts say communities across the U.S. have made significant progress in efforts to expand Internet access, largely through private-public partnerships and localized initiatives to make broadband affordable to families.

Some $386 million in state funding is set to be distributed to counties throughout the state to expand Internet service. The governor has awarded 56 grants totaling more than $196 million from the Broadband Deployment Fund so far.

Officials are working to bridge the city’s digital divide, bringing data to the fight. They hope a resident survey will help to better understand where the need for broadband service is greatest.

The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians and AT&T held a groundbreaking ceremony this week for a project that will expand access to high-speed Internet service to more than 500 new customers in Valley Center, Calif.