Broadband Breakfast
NTIA OKs Virginia’s Broadband Plan, Commonwealth Launches BEAD Challenge Process
Virginia became the second state in the nation to begin its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program challenge process, kicking off the process one week after approval of its plan by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Virginia’s challenge process is being carried out through a partnership with Virginia Tech Center for Geospatial Information Technology—to provide the challenge process portal—and Ready, which is supporting Virginia’s challenge effort with its public map and speed test portal. Virginia has identified 134,221 unserved and 27,806 unders
Illinois's Director of the Office of Broadband Matt Schmit is empowering local governments and communities ahead of BEAD projects
Director of the Illinois Office of Broadband, Matt Schmit, has been working for over 20 years in economic development, and began his public interest career as a grad student at University of Minnesota. There, he spent his spare time doing consulting work with local communities to take stock of their connectivity needs and make use of federal broadband funding programs.
Co-Ops Can Look to Counties for BEAD Match Requirement
Partnering with counties is an asset for electric co-operatives seeking capital for the matching requirement in the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, said an expert. Darren Farnan, chief operating officer of rural electric co-op United Fiber. He said that Missouri counties used Capital Project Fund (CPF) and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) money to help with the co-op’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) application. Counties have the same goal as co-ops to connect every address to high-speed internet, said Farnan.
After BEAD Allocation, Gigi Sohn Advocates Municipal Broadband to Close Coverage Gaps
Municipal broadband providers, which play a vital role in bridging the digital divide, should have equitable access to federal funding regardless of state regulatory roadblocks, said Gigi Sohn, executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband.
A $10 Billion Broadband Black Hole?
The US Treasury just gave California more than half a billion dollars to fund broadband buildout. This money may help reduce the digital divide. It also might not.
States Must Be the Truth Arbiters of Broadband Coverage, Say Experts
States must be the arbiter of coverage disputes for the allocation of coming federal funds, said broadband experts. The $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program directs states to design their own grant programs. To successfully implement these state grant programs, states must “be the source of truth for challenges,” said Peggy Schaffer of mapping software company VETRO. It is the responsibility of states to determine truth by sifting through many sources of coverage claims, said Schaffer.
Community Engagement is Key to BEAD Grant Planning Process, Experts Say
As state broadband offices enter the planning phase of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, industry leaders say that community engagement is key to ensuring affordability and long-term sustainability.
Panel Suggest Need for Tracking Mechanism for Broadband Infrastructure Funding
There needs to be a way to consistently track the billions in broadband infrastructure money coming from the federal government, said Information Technology and Innovation Foundation panelists. With $42.5 billion coming to the states from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, experts floated the idea of having mandated ongoing reporting requirements on what that money is doing. Brookings Institution senior fellow Nicol Turner-Lee said her research group is discussing their own version of a tracking me
Broadband Networks Are Doing Well, Time to Shift to Adoption Gap
It turns out there are two digital divides in America. The first one is the familiar divide between those who have Internet subscriptions and those who don’t. Everyone agrees this is a persistent concern, with about 10 percent of the public lacking subscriptions at the last count.