Broadband

A grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Connecting Minority Communities Program will allow the southwest Georgia university to improve its broadband infrastructure and hire and train IT personnel.

Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties, along with the Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments, are working together on this initiative to expand broadband needs to underserved populations within the area.

Residents in rural and urban areas across the state are being encouraged to test their Wi-Fi connections and submit results that will be formulated into a map to inform future broadband funding.

Plus, the General Services Administration is working to ensure that the American Rescue Plan will advance equitable outcomes, the federal government is expanding its TechWomen mentor program, and more.

The Biden administration is awarding Michigan service providers $55.7 million through a grant and loan program to bring high-speed Internet access to those without it in rural areas of the state.

Officials in Washington County are continuing to press ahead with an ambitious high-speed Internet access expansion plan by earmarking up to $50 million to connect 5,000 homes, schools and businesses.

Decatur Utilities took a step toward a public fiber-optic broadband Internet system this week when it hired a consultant to do a financial analysis of the project, one of several expenditures the board approved Monday.

Rather than laying a lot of new fiber lines to homes and far flung farm sites under the ground, a new project uses a system of towers and antennas to get high bandwidth signals to customers in rural areas.

While cities are limited in the restrictions they can place on 5G infrastructure by federal law, Ashland residents are urging officials to take action on an ordinance that would guide where and how 5G cellphone towers are built.

Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez said the project was a priority for him and the city commission after Brownsville was twice consecutively ranked among the least connected places in the United States.

Lynbrook, N.Y.'s Internet Outage Continuity Plan takes an in-depth look at how the local government can maintain critical services — even in the face of a six-month-long Internet outage.

A preliminary report by the Albany Municipal Internet Commission recommends that the city pursue citywide broadband Internet as a way to increase high-speed Internet access for its residents.

Using a public-private partnership, about 3,400 homes in rural Walker County, Tenn., will be equipped for high-speed Internet in the next two years, with the project costing nearly $11.3 million total.

Plus, how electric infrastructure can help expand access to high-speed Internet, Boston unveils the results of a recent digital equity assessment, Salesforce tapped to help distribute federal grant money, and more.

In his first year as Arkansas chief technology officer, Jonathan Askins brings his private-sector background to bear on state IT modernization, broadband and where the state stands in its ongoing data work.

Plus, Ohio broadband program is now accepting grants; a new report examines the role of libraries nationwide in closing the digital divide; and New York extends the deadline for a fintech innovation challenge.

Gov. Janet Mills announced $128 million in federal funding will be used by the Maine Connectivity Authority to expand broadband. The funding for this investment comes from the American Rescue Plan.

The commissioners of Butler County, Ohio, have heard a $4 million proposal to bring high-speed Internet to 2,700 locations in rural parts of the county. The project would be led by an electric cooperative.