Network

Plus, $204 million is made available for Internet expansion in Pennsylvania, New York’s ConnectALL launches its County Partnerships program, and more.

Few public policy issues will affect the future of our country the way telecommunications infrastructure will, specifically considering the current regulatory path for 5G and wireless spectrum.

Bill Zielinski, who has led the Information and Technology Services department since 2020, will step down April 30. In recent years, he led the city’s response to a ransomware attack, and to the deletion of millions of police records.

The Affordable Connectivity Program, which was created after the pandemic forced many Americans to turn to the Internet to connect with work and school, has 23 million enrollees nationwide.

The incident, detected April 14, resulted in a third party gaining unauthorized access to portions of the company’s IT environment — and to personally identifiable information. As part of its response, Frontier shut down systems.

Plus, new legislation aims to increase digital skills training opportunities, two Ohio initiatives aim to increase digital equity, a new grant program for digital services was announced in Colorado, and more.

April is the last month of full funding for the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, which helps subsidize monthly Internet service for low-income households. Advocates hope it will be reauthorized.

The Canada-based gov tech supplier has acquired a company that sells CAD, RMS and other tools for first responders and public safety agencies. Versaterm’s CEO explains the thinking behind his company’s latest deal.

For thousands of Texans living in the Rio Grande Valley, the so-called "last mile" — that stubborn final leg of a broadband Internet network that reaches a residential neighborhood — can seem endless.

Commissioners in Franklin County, Maine, will commit $100,000 from the county’s undesignated fund to an IT reserve fund. During the next 18 months, plans are to migrate a computer server onto the county’s cloud network.

More than 23 million low-income households are enrolled in a federal discount program that is expected to run out of money in April or May, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Due to a lack of funding, the FCC recently froze enrollment in the Affordable Connectivity Program, announcing that it will only be fully funded through the month of April.

Plus, the FCC is preparing for a vote that could restore rules around net neutrality, state digital equity plans are continuing to be accepted, and more.

Two companies in Cleveland, Ohio, are partnering to offer immersion cooling for data centers, submersing servers in large tanks of specialized liquid. The process aims at two pain points: the need for effective cooling and the cost of electricity.

Plus, a mapping tool helps inform the permitting process, tribes in New Mexico get $10 million for digital equity, and more.

City councilmembers in Aurora, Ill., this week approved spending nearly $1.4 million to grow the network to additional parts of its water system. The work will wrap an accelerated fiber expansion to water locations begun in 2022.

Minnesota cities are asking the Legislature for power to slap Internet providers with new fees, an idea they say will lead to more broadband while helping to pay for basic government access programming.

Plus, stakeholders continue to push for more ACP funding as the program winds down, Connecticut releases $41 million for broadband, and San Antonio is supporting small businesses with digital skills training.