Digital Equity

Ahead of the Federal Communications Commission's goal of rolling out new broadband labels this month, telecommunications industry experts from the Fiber Broadband Association and Carnegie Mellon weigh in on the subject.

Merced County, Calif., is working to collect the community feedback that officials there need to inform their efforts to improve the broadband services for the entire county and the six cities located there.

Work on the Lowndes County fiber-optic network will be done by ISP Windstream and is slated to start in 2023 – a 2026 completion deadline has been set by Gov. Brian Kemp. The project consists of some 900 miles of fiber-optic lines.

New York City Office of Technology and Innovation recently released its strategic plan that looks to improve the city’s overall posture in the technology space — starting with an effort to improve technical literacy.

The $50 million in ARPA funding, which is exclusively for digital equity activities, is meant to help address those issues. The funding has to be fully committed by the end of 2024 and fully spent by the end of 2026.

Plus, New York program submits 31,000 unserved addresses to help inform broadband mapping effort, a new report outlines how policymakers can support libraries working to foster digital equity, and more.

At a Thursday webinar panel for the Educause Annual Conference, former U.S. Secretary of Education and Chicago schools CEO Arne Duncan described technology access and degree completion as major issues facing higher ed.

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.

Champaign County, Ohio, libraries are providing a technology trainer at the branches there, and workers in the county are also pointing to a local need for better Internet access and digital literacy.

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.

County commissioners listened to a request for broadband funding from the ConnEctor task force that would help establish a nonprofit connector broadband office to better serve Internet access to residents.

The DCPS Digital Equity Act of 2022 requires the school district to create a student technology plan to close the digital divide locally and modernize school IT protocols, with the help of feedback from parents and educators.

The funding will go to 19 magnet schools' equity efforts, as well as the creation of four regional “equity assistance centers” that provide public schools with technical assistance and guidance on nondiscrimination.

A local organization called the Enterprise Center is working with community partners to provide residents in the city's Orchard Knob neighborhood with broadband access for telehealth appointments.

Through its new consolidated Office of Technology and Innovation, NYC is working to expand connectivity access through various technology-related initiatives, including its most recent advancement: Big Apple Connect.

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.

The federal government has announced more than $100 million in grants to bring high-speed fiber Internet to many Southwest Alaska villages, part of a massive investment to close the digital divide in rural areas.