Network

The state Office of Science, Innovation and Technology is partnering with a vendor to deliver broadband to Laughlin and Cal-Nev-Ari. American Rescue Plan Act funds are driving the work.

Plus, Congress calls on the Trump administration to follow the law for BEAD program funding, AI infrastructure increasingly plays a role in digital equity, stakeholders are calling for reforms to USF, and more.

The Washington State Broadband Office has a new director, Jordan Arnold, who previously served as a senior policy adviser on broadband within the Biden administration. She will start in January.

Plus, Arizona has launched a permit finder to support BEAD deployments, legislation could streamline broadband projects, New Mexico is helping students across the state access the Internet, and more.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has approved the state’s final proposal for how it would spend funds it received through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.

Policy and other changes have slowed the rollout of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. Internet providers, residents and others are frustrated by its lack of tangible results.

Plus, broadband permitting legislation advances in the U.S. Congress, a project aims to expand connectivity to boost agriculture technology adoption, Oklahoma has kicked off a fiber project and more.

The San Francisco Tech Council, a multi-sector collaborative, powers digital inclusion work in the city through events and trainings. It supports agencies and practitioners in navigating the landscape.

Not a cyber attack, the “internal service degradation” on Cloudflare’s network interrupted online operations for several states, municipalities and regional transit, health and human services organizations.

Governments and communities must work together to ensure AI data center projects meet residents’ current and future needs, experts said, and in order to realize their full economic benefits and mitigate harm.

Officials at the Lyon County seat joined a ribbon-cutting marking plans by service provider IdeaTek to bring in “ultra-fast fiber Internet.” The entire city is expected to go live by early April.

Plus, the Network Equipment Transparency Act passed in the U.S. Senate, San Francisco is expanding its free Wi-Fi network, Alabama has made progress on the construction of its middle-mile network, and more.

The initiative will provide grants to aid Internet service providers in repairing and rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by Hurricane Helene. Communities in western North Carolina were hard hit by the storm.

So far, 70 households have signed up for high-speed Internet. A county commission dedicated millions in federal funding and partnered with two Internet service providers to drive the expansion.

Plus, Arkansas is offering technology training to residents, North Carolina is investing in recovering broadband infrastructure after Hurricane Helene, rural broadband legislation has been introduced, and more.

Plus, the FCC is looking to make changes to broadband consumer labels, localities are partnering with private-sector businesses to expand Internet access, Oklahoma has launched new broadband work, and more.

Plus, New Mexico and Indiana are both expanding access to broadband, a federal government shift to paperless checks may widen digital inequities, and more.

An early-morning disruption for Amazon Web Services caused widespread errors across key cloud systems — a reminder of how dependent state and local agencies have become on centralized infrastructure.