Broadband

Plus, more states are holding in-person events to stoke citizen participation in their connectivity work, President Biden's long-delayed fifth FCC commissioner nominee gets a hearing, and more.

Seventy one percent of households in the county have access to broadband Internet service. Officials want that number to be even higher, despite the substantial costs associated with the buildout.

Plus, the Rural Broadband Association submits a list of priorities to the new Congress; the Department of Defense and NTIA host a 5G challenge; the Texas Library Commission is collecting data about Internet speeds; and more!

In an effort to bridge the digital divide, library officials will be handing out hot spots, tablets and laptops. The devices were paid for by a $548,100 grant from the Federal Communications Commission.

Plus, a bipartisan group of senators reintroduces legislation that would increase access to rural broadband; the Biden administration announces $33.5M of Internet grants for universities; and more.

The California Public Utilities Commission has bestowed the city with a $493 million grant to further establish broadband access for unserved and underserved residents and businesses within Vacaville.

Under the terms of a newly approved franchising policy in Hanceville, Ala., Internet service providers that use city right of way will pay 5 percent of their annual gross income to the city for maintenance.

The U.S. Department of Commerce awarded Coppin State University a $3.9 million grant that will support the expansion of broadband Internet access in West Baltimore, where access is less common.

Funding from the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC), part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Internet for All initiative, will help expand access to high-speed Internet and tech for online learning.

The state will receive $363 million in federal grants to increase access to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet to more than 150,000 homes and businesses, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.

Roughly 116,000 homes and businesses in Maine do not have broadband service, according to federal data. The grants announced this week will expand service to more than 16,000 homes and businesses in nine counties.

Plus, Michigan’s High-Speed Internet Office launches a $238 million grant program to support connectivity in unserved areas, new research examines steps needed to close the digital divide in Black communities, and more.

Despite claims that states can close the digital divide in five years, digital equity is a long-term problem that requires long-term solutions, and states must plan accordingly.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development this week announced that more than $5.6 million was awarded for projects in Lawrence County and more than $9.5 million was awarded for projects in five counties.

The cities of Lewiston and Auburn will be at the center of a new fiber-optic broadband network being built by GoNetspeed. The work is expected to begin later this year, the company said.

The county’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance to become a certified Broadband Forward! Community. The designation is part of a state effort to encourage the development of broadband access across the state.

Four projects across three townships are being planned to expand Internet access, county officials announced this week. Ligonier, Fairfield and Derry townships will be seeing upgrades under the plans.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted this week announced $12 million in funding for two programs meant to bolster the telecommunications workforce in the state. The funding is part of a larger strategy released in September 2021.