Network

Telecom companies serving five Minnesota counties are set to receive $100 million in federal grants to bring new high-speed Internet to more than 33,000 Minnesota rural homes and businesses.

With federal broadband funding hanging in the balance, state and federal officials are urging residents to verify their Internet access status. The information will help identify underserved areas in need of service expansion.

Rural parts of the state that lack reliable Internet connections are hopeful the recent award of $65 million in American Rescue Plan Act money will expand service in their areas. The state Legislature accepted the funding last week.

City officials say the recent request for proposals to build a fiber broadband network has seen significant interest from Internet service providers. The deadline for proposals is the end of the week.

A new partnership between EPB and California-based Qubitekk will allow private companies, government and university researchers to test quantum equipment and applications in an established fiber-optic environment.

Plus, new bipartisan legislation at the federal level is taking aim at increasing access to rural broadband, Pennsylvania is working to expand broadband across the entirety of the commonwealth, and more.

State and local efforts to expand residential broadband to 53 un- and underserved communities have now brought full service to 44 of them and partial services to the others. The state also announced several new initiatives.

The potential vulnerabilities found in charging stations run the gamut, from skimming someone's credit card information, locking a charging station or a network of charging stations or hacking into the larger electrical grid.

The findings, compiled by a contractor, outlined an important blueprint about what needs the county should focus on moving forward, officials said. It also gives the county credibility as it competes for grant funding.

The Anderson County, Texas, Commissioners Court has now approved a broadband Internet study and action plan, conducted by the East Texas Council of Governments, during Monday's meeting.

The satellite-based Internet service from SpaceX has launched in Alaska, where more than 200 villages lack city-quality service. Advocates say the service will extend to every corner of the state.

The Federal Communications Commission has imposed new limits on Chinese telecommunication companies — Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. — citing concerns about cybersecurity risks to U.S. networks.

The release of new Internet availability maps earlier this month has elicited a wide response from U.S. senators, federal broadband officials, telecommunications industry groups, nonprofit organizations and others.

Joseph residents will soon have more options when it comes to choosing an Internet provider, thanks to Metronet, a 100 percent fiber-optic company started back in 2005 that is now moving into the local market.

Tech-rich but Internet-poor, residents of a Silicon Valley neighborhood were fed up with sluggish broadband of less than 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload — the federal definition of unserved by adequate Internet.

In anticipation of the FCC releasing its new nationwide broadband maps today, Government Technology spoke with several industry experts to better understand how these maps will work and some of the challenges still ahead.

Plus, New Mexico directs $36.8 million in grants through an Internet expansion pilot program, Nebraska nets $5.6 million in federal awards for boosting broadband, a report details Chicago digital divide progress, and more.

In heavily wooded Cook Township, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, the average Internet speed is so slow that it barely qualifies as broadband, according to the new federal minimum standard.