Broadband

Northumberland and Union counties through SEDA-Council of Governments are seeking $1 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) funds toward the expansion of broadband.

The construction phase of a multiyear project to provide high-speed fiber-optic Internet to more than 16,000 rural residents in Lowndes County has begun. The project will connect around 96 percent of the unserved county census blocks.

Narrowing the digital divide between those who can't afford a computer or Internet access and those who can is the goal of a program taking place in several communities in Essex County, including Haverhill.

The city of Brownsville is installing its BTXFibers project that, when completed, will make the Internet accessible and affordable to all residents and businesses. The first connections are expected in July.

Haverhill, Mass., residents are getting help in the form of free computer classes, free computers and free Internet access from the nonprofit MakeIT Haverhill, with the support of a regional program.

Other companies are hoping to do the same, and a few are already doing so, but Starlink and Amazon are the major players in what some experts are calling a “head-to-head rivalry.”

Local government officials in McLean County, Ill., regional planners and the McLean County Farm Bureau want to know how fast Internet access is in rural parts of the county.

Oneisha Freeman, digital connectivity manager of GTA, said the meetings have the dual purpose of providing communities with resources they could utilize and gauging feedback that helps shape GTA programs.

The AT&T Connected Learning Center, located at the Rincon Education Center, increases Internet access for tribal community members, while providing opportunities for students to do homework and for adults to seek employment.

The county board of commissioners is asking to be considered for the state’s Realizing Opportunities for Broadband Infrastructure Networks grant, seizing the opportunity to apply before the next round of grants in 2024.

Plus, Vermont is the latest state actively seeking resident input on its digital equity planning, Hawaii's state digital equity leader is honored by a pair of new awards, and more.

Plus, more about Kansas' $15 million of federal funding for digital equity; U.S. senators reintroduce digital equity legislation, $180 for digital equity heading to libraries, and more.

The next generation of Internet is being deployed in communities across Houston and nearby rural areas. In Lake Houston, providers such as Tachus and Comcast are already installing equipment to bring 10G to the area.

The college will use funding from the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to help Latino and low-income students in remote and hybrid learning.

Even as digital inclusion was celebrating a peak in interest, long-time practitioners in the space were preparing for what comes next and stressing the importance of thinking sustainability.

Raimondo stressed that the federal government needs local digital inclusion practitioners to help it bridge the digital divide, making a trip to San Antonio specifically for the event.

An official from the U.S. Treasury Department says that 20 other states have applied for similar funding, and more announcements are coming, “to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

A public tribal land-grant community college in Minnesota will use federal grant money to upgrade Internet service and security, learning software and computers, and provide service plans for students on and off campus.