Network

"Last mile" grant money from the American Rescue Plan Act and California's general fund will help construct a broadband network for 700 homes and businesses at the county's northern border along Highway 1.

Plus, Kansas has announced funding for digital skills training, a map illustrates municipal networks across the country, and more.

The county’s $17.08 million budget includes what may be the last disbursements of American Rescue Plan Act funds. These include thousands for broadband, but the county is also applying for a grant to expand access to veterans and seniors.

The state is poised to disperse nearly $827 million for broadband expansion in some of the state’s most hard-to-reach places. Gov. Jared Polis’ goal is to connect 99 percent of households to high-speed Internet by 2027.

County commissioners allocated $6.7 million in 2022 to address recommendations from a study on broadband access. So far, work has included support for digital literacy instruction, including in health care and employment.

Plus, a new apprenticeship program will help bolster the broadband workforce, survivors of domestic violence can access support through the Lifeline program, and more.

After a customer survey revealed 70 percent of respondents did not have broadband, the Lewis County Public Utility District recently made the first links in a grant-funded, fiber-to-the-premises broadband network.

Telecommunications giant Comcast announced earlier this summer the company will be extending its multigig broadband speed Internet services to rural parts of Clark County.

The utility ComEd is working with Illinois nonprofit QUILT to improve middle-mile broadband infrastructure across Chicago’s South and West sides while reducing costs. The initiative is enabled by a federal grant.

The Gopher State is finding Internet service providers are not applying for the grants because of regulations that would come along. These include having to provide low-cost services to low-income households.

Plus, New Mexico has awarded $40 million in grants for broadband, libraries in a North Carolina county are expanding access to Internet-enabled devices and assistive technology, and more.

The state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion has announced the money will go to Internet service providers, telephone cooperatives, pueblos and a tribal company. It’s part of a $70 million, state-led program.

Plus, a settlement will enable access to affordable Internet in New York, Indigenous libraries are getting funding for digital inclusion, and more.

The investment in American Rescue Plan Act funds will pay for an expansion of Time Warner Cable to more than 6,000 homes in Montgomery, Butler, Preble, Logan and Auglaize counties.

Internet service provider Comcast will deploy fiber in the Milford, Orange and Woodbridge areas, potentially reaching more than 160,000 state residents. The move is expected to reach nearly 173,000 homes and businesses.

Plus, Louisiana launched a $1.3 billion grant program, the city of Orlando is seeking a person or company to lead digital literacy training, and more.

Officials have announced a pact with Internet service provider Zayo to increase Internet availability in as many as 10 county ZIP codes. The project is funded by American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Buoyed by more than half a billion federal dollars, the state’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program is accepting applications through Oct. 15 to improve high-speed Internet.