Digital Equity

The state is set to receive $110 million in federal funds to expand high-speed Internet access to about 22,000 families and businesses in rural parts of the state. The money comes from the American Rescue Plan.

Clatsop, Ore., residents are being asked to take a short Internet speed test to help Faster Internet Oregon — a collaboration among economic development districts and other agencies — locate the service gaps.

Plus, Oklahoma is now hiring a state broadband director; Maryland has announced $127.6 million in new broadband grants; Cleveland, Ohio, allocated $25 million of federal funding to broadband support; and more.

Billions of dollars in federal assistance could help bring high-speed Internet service to thousands of Wisconsin households, according to a new report, but not without continued help and funding from the state.

The winner in a 2020 federal auction to build broadband in rural areas was a small company started by a Minnesota entrepreneur, and there are now significant challenges for the firm and people waiting for better Internet.

The city has set its sights on building an open-access fiber network that will serve a neighborhood of about 3,200 households. Officials plan to use $10 million in American Rescue Plan funds for the pilot.

Yuba County officials have partnered with SiFi Networks to bring a new fiber-optics network to the rural towns of Linda, Olivehurst and Plumas Lake. The project is expected to decrease Internet costs.

Plus, New York audits its ongoing broadband program work; a program in Colorado aims to distribute broadband grants throughout the state; the FCC announces $159 million in new Emergency Connectivity Funding; and more.

Plus, Texas creates a new division that will oversee the Broadband Development Office, the federal government has awarded nearly $7.7 million to tribal groups developing community broadband plans, and more.

The newly formed Latah County Broadband Coalition in Idaho hopes that even residents who live in the most remote areas of the county will have access to high-speed Internet in the future.

The recent American Library Association Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., saw a gathering of librarians and the companies that sell them tech products for their work, some of which provide a glimpse of the future.

The BroadbandOhio Community Accelerator program is a collaborative effort between BroadbandOhio, Heartland Forward, the Benton Institute and The Ohio State University Office of Extension.

Southport, Maine, an archipelago town of just 600 residents located off Boothbay Harbor, has now seen mailers and digital ads linked to the incumbent Internet provider and allies as a vote nears.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has announced that the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians will receive more than $1.2 million to expand high-speed Internet access on its reservation lands.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has discriminated against users by restricting who can view housing ads based on certain demographics. Now, the company is in the process of fixing it.

The Latah County Broadband Coalition will focus on addressing Internet infrastructure needs throughout the county with an emphasis on identifying federal, state and local funding streams to further connectivity goals.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot also put two leaders in charge of the effort, including a city data specialist reporting to her office. The new effort builds upon a push to give more students Internet access at their homes.

Plus, Texas has released its initial 2022 broadband plan; Kentucky is investing more than $200 million in high-speed Internet; the GSA has announced its first cohort of 40 U.S. Digital Corps fellows; and more.