New York City (NYC) Mesh is not an internet service provider, but a grassroots, volunteer-run community network that aims to create an affordable, open and reliable network that's accessible to all New Yorkers for both daily and emergency internet use. To a layperson, the wireless mesh network—which relies on building-to-building line-of-sight connections—resembles the NYC subway: a circuitry of stations and routes where building nodes are the stations connecting to street level, and neighborhood hubs act as the transfer stations where you can reroute to several different subway lines. Providing donation-based internet access is part of NYC Mesh's objective to serve the underserved with the premise that communication should be free. Anyone is free to join, as long as they keep the network open and extend it to others. "We will never disconnect you for payment reasons," says NYC Mesh Founder and Lead Volunteer Brian Hall. Community-led broadband organizations like NYC Mesh won't overcome the divide on their own, but they offer a glimpse into what things might look like if there was free broadband for all.

Senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) led 25 of their Senate colleagues in writing to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expeditiously reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act and restore net neutrality protections. Doing so will allow the FCC to effectively protect consumers from harmful practices online, promote affordable access to the internet, enhance public safety, increase marketplace competition, and take other important steps to benefit our nation’s digital future. The letter is cosigned by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai’i), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Patty Murray (D-WA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-II), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jack Reed (D-RI), Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-II), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Angus King (I-Maine).

In August, I had the pleasure of visiting Totelcom’s—a family-owned, rural telecommunications provider—offices and training facilities in De Leon, Texas. The visit provided insight into the work and challenges of rural providers, and how much those challenges can vary across a state as vast and geographically diverse as Texas. Totelcom trains its workers on the job by partnering new employees with more experienced staff who show them the ropes and provide valuable mentorship. Work-based learning opportunities allow participants to develop skills that employers value but may be hard to learn in a classroom. They can also lower barriers to entry by allowing employers to bring on individuals with less educational or professional experience prior to taking the job and allow new workers to earn a paycheck while being trained. As we work to accomplish President Joe Biden’s goal of expanding reliable, affordable, high-speed internet service to every corner of America, we’re going to need a skilled workforce, including thousands of new technicians, equipment operators, and engineers. Preparing for that workforce demand will look different for each state and territory, but understanding the workforce needs of local internet service providers is critical.  

[Kevin Gallagher is a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo]

A $6.8 million public–private partnership between Windstream's broadband provider, Kinetic, and Bullitt County (KY) will connect some 6,300 homes and businesses with high-speed fiber internet for the first time. The project, expected to start in early October, will provide internet speeds up to 8 Gbps to eligible homes and business in several parts of the county, including the unincorporated communities of Cedar Grove, Solitude and Brownington. Under the partnership, the county will commit $2 million from its general fund to support the project. Kinetic will invest $4.8 million and cover any cost overruns. The combined venture will enable Kinetic to lay about 170 miles of optical fiber cable, with work expected to be completed in 2024.