Network

The funding, coming from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will be used for purchasing new library devices, improving public library computer infrastructure and digital literacy training.

The federal government is funding smartphone broadband access in remote areas as part of a $42.35 billion program to connect every home and business with reliable, affordable and high-speed Internet.

Among its allocations of federal American Rescue Plan Act monies, Northampton County has committed around $20.6 million for uses including broadband deployment, and $1.6 million for election security.

With an ongoing push towards expanding high-speed broadband Internet coverage, Dunn County officials expect that nearly all residents there will be able to access the service soon.

When an Internet service provider was unable to comply with contract language, commissioners in Ashtabula County decided to rebid the project. This time, companies can bid on smaller portions of the initiative.

A federal appeals court on Thursday dealt a blow to President Biden's Federal Communications Commission, striking down the agency's hard-fought and long-debated open Internet rules.

Plus, a Florida city is expanding public Wi-Fi in parks, Connecticut released its biannual broadband report, libraries around the country will offer digital literacy training, and more.

The federal agency disclosed Chinese state-sponsored bad actors had breached its network and gained access to unclassified documents. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson called the allegation “unwarranted and groundless.”

In his final State of the City address this year, Mayor Richard Irvin said his city is “becoming a city of bytes, bandwidth and breakthroughs,” highlighting its work expanding broadband access and modernizing its online presence.

Plus, North Carolina launched a new website to support digital inclusion, Massachusetts is investing in connecting public housing properties, CISA issued mobile communications guidance, and more.

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program has seen significant advances in 2024, and its program director expects this path will continue in 2025 under a new presidential administration.

The funding will help the state activate its Digital Equity Plan, part of a national endeavor to clear barriers to Internet access and use. The money, a grant, is intended to confront challenges including lack of affordable devices and insufficient digital skills.

The county has pledged the contribution of funds after winning a longshot bid for a state grant toward the endeavor. The state will contribute $26.1 million through its ConnectALL Municipal Infrastructure Grant Program.

Plus, the Federal Communications Commission is pushing for greater network security measures after a cyber attack, additional funding has been awarded through the Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, and more.

Officials in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin and Tulare counties are asking why the San Joaquin Valley received just 6.6 percent of the first $804 million California gave out to increase access to affordable broadband.

The company has extended its network north of Sterling, Ill., the latest piece of its $1.4 billion investment in its network in the state during the last three years. This piece brings its full service suite to the county including unserved homes.

Plus, Kansas will soon open funding applications to expand connectivity, a Colorado county is receiving federal funding for broadband, the economic benefits of improving Internet access in Harlan County, Ky., and more.

The State Transportation Board has picked a private-sector collaborator to handle maintenance, operations and commercialization as it builds out 1,400 miles of high-speed Internet infrastructure on all Georgia interstates.