Digital Equity

Libraries once struggled to keep up with demand for public computers. Now branches are removing them as they move toward a future built on providing a wide array of technology to patrons.

The $20 million contract meant to connect every Cleveland resident to high-speed Internet was put on hold this week when concerns were raised about whether the nonprofit DigitalC has the capabilities to see the work through.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, the Indiana Broadband Office and the Office of Community and Rural Affairs have announced that Ohio and Dearborn counties, the town of Moores Hill, the town of Dillsboro and the city of Rising Sun are the newest Broadband Ready Communities.

Plus, Mississippi nets more federal funds to connect residents to affordable Internet, Connecticut directs $10 million to upgrade its senior centers, and more.

Sen. Joe Manchin announced the addition of some 86,000 unserved locations to West Virginia’s portion of the FCC broadband map. The map will be used to distribute funding to areas in need of Internet expansion.

After enrollment and staffing plummeted during the pandemic, Greenburgh Eleven is the only school district in the state that hasn’t submitted an instructional technology plan that would provide funding for 2022-2025.

According to political leaders and broadband officials at a summit this week, New Mexico will get between $100 million and $700 million in federal funding to expand broadband capacity for underserved communities.

In two California localities, the city of Fresno and Merced County, partnerships with a private company have helped to create an ecosystem that enables the advancement of digital equity initiatives.

Plus, Ohio launches a workforce program to support broadband deployment, New York aims to improve digital literacy for older adults, and more.

School-approved devices in participating districts can connect to secure Wi-Fi well beyond the classroom or student homes under Kajeet's expanded partnership with eduroam, a roaming Wi-Fi service for school networks.

A fiber-to-home broadband project in the village of Poplar was one of 24 to be awarded a 2023 State Broadband Expansion Grant. The $523,423 grant for the project will be matched by the ISP overseeing the work.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday signed an agriculture and broadband spending bill into law. The new law earmarks $100 million in funding for rural Internet expansion.

Hundreds of residents in the mostly rural areas of east Seminole County face excruciatingly slow and data-restricted Internet service because of the lack of reliable broadband options.

Plus, San Francisco launches a new initiative to support awareness for the Affordable Connectivity Program; Charter Communications commits another $1 million to a digital education initiative; and more.

One-quarter of adults in the United States have some kind of disability. Are government agencies doing enough to serve their citizens equally — and ensure their safety in emergency situations?

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, the Indiana Broadband Office, and the Office of Community and Rural Affairs announced Decatur County has been designated as the state's 77th Broadband Ready Community.

The Dunn County Broadband Task Force is conducting a regional survey of residents to establish a plan to improve broadband access and grab a portion of federal funding earmarked for state broadband efforts.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the New York state Department of Labor is launching a new, free digital literacy program to help job seekers gain skills needed to be more marketable to an employer.