Network

Plus, Kansas is expanding Internet access and digital literacy, local governments in Ohio are investing in skills training, a new workshop series focuses on artificial intelligence use, and more.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke signed bills establishing a state Broadband Office and expanding digital literacy services. The new office will ensure high-speed Internet reaches the underserved statewide.

Federal officials have unveiled widely anticipated revisions regarding the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. States had paused some activities in anticipation of the changes.

Two routes that will run underneath the lake, bringing faster Internet to thousands of Michiganders and connecting Benton Harbor to Chicago, are in environmental review and engineering.

Plus, a second FCC commissioner has announced his departure, a survey reveals a major area lacking in digital accessibility efforts, local governments are expanding their fiber networks, and more.

The Residential Retrofit Program of Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Massachusetts Broadband Institute, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, has delivered high-speed Internet to an apartment complex in Springfield.

The Freestate Middle Mile Network ultimately will deploy 682 miles of fiber with funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. A goal is for Kansas to be among the top 10 states for broadband access by 2030.

Plus, Hawaii students were recognized for their contributions to broadband data mapping work, a report shows more than half of New Yorkers use free public Wi-Fi, another shows progress in rural broadband expansion, and more.

Free public Wi-Fi hosted by cities is booming, boosting digital access. But as reliance grows, so do cybersecurity risks like "evil twin" attacks. Can cities truly make free Wi-Fi safe?

Plus, officials launched a new global coalition to support multilingual Internet access, advocates continue calling for the renewal of congressionally approved federal funding, one county will expand fiber Internet, and more.

Members of the Hoopa Valley and Yurok tribes are expected to commence work this summer on expanding Internet access in their regions. The work is the first joint-build agreement between a tribe and the state.

More than $20 million in high-speed Internet work in Monongalia County, paid for in part with about $8 million in federal funding, should start bringing residents online this year, a county commissioner said.

With a pilot area built, crews will expand north of Belknap Street, where fiber enters the city from Duluth, Minn. Officials have allocated $5 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act money to the project.

Plus, New York announced grants through its ConnectALL initiative, Albuquerque halted a fiber installation initiative after resident complaints, broadband legislation to support rural providers emerged, and more.

Shifts in funding for high-speed Internet will stall a broadband expansion in the works for Pennsylvania. Administrative delays and higher labor costs are likely to burden projects in the state.

The federal agency is cautioning residents and business owners that old “end of life” routers are prime targets for bad actors capable of infecting them with malware. The FBI advises they be replaced immediately.

Preorders have opened prior to construction, enabling officials in the city of more than 21,000 to ensure the network will pay for itself. Willmar has partnered with Silverlight Fiber Network, an aggregate Internet service provider.

President Donald Trump has called for ending the Digital Equity Act, which Congress passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, referring to it as unconstitutional. Advocates respond and examine what that could mean.