Digital Divide

New York is continuing to expand broadband internet access statewide through a new initiative called ConnectALL. A replacement for former Gov Andrew Cuomo (D-NY)’s New NY Broadband Program, the ConnectALL initiative is a $1.4 billion program that will use $300 million of state money and $1.1 billion from the federal government.

Two groups of communities in northwest Vermont are close to reaching an agreement with Google Fiber to bring lightning-fast service to some of the state’s most underserved areas. Communications union districts (CUDs) are towns that have banded together to build communication infrastructure. Two of Vermont’s newest CUDs, Northwest FiberworX (with 21 member communities) and Lamoille FiberNet (with 10 member communities), joined forces last year to build, own and maintain an open-access fiber network that can host multiple internet service providers — a first for the state.

States are looking toward electric utilities for new broadband initiatives. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) will be working with Sherburne Electric, a NYPA municipal electricity customer, to use NYPA’s existing fiber network for the middle-mile connection as Sherburne designs and builds out fiber networks to its 1,800 homes and businesses.

Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), every state will receive at least $100 million to start via the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Allocation of this much federal money to states for a specific objective without a long-standing local department or agency in place to ensure the funds are deployed wisely is rare. Many states do not have a dedicated broadband team. If they do, it is often staffed by just a few people who are tucked inside another agency or staffed by a third party.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) that will award $95 million in broadband grants across the state, applications must be submitted by August 4, 2022 at 4:00 pm. Building on appropriations from both the 2021 and 2022 legislative sessions, this grant round contains the highest-ever amount of funding for the Border-to-Border Broadband Infrastructure grant program. Funding from two sources – state and federal – can be used to reimburse for up to half the cost of the broadband infrastructure deployed.

Governor Tony Evers (D-WI) and Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) Chairperson Rebecca Cameron Valcq announced that additional funding would be available for the current round of the State Broadband Expansion Grants. This brings the total available funds to $125 million-- $25 million more than what was announced in November 2021. The funding for the grants comes from the 2021-23 Biennial Budget signed by Governor Evers in July 2021, which will be used to expand high-speed broadband internet to unserved or underserved areas of the state.

Much media and industry attention has been focused on the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program since Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and for good reason. The $42.5 billion BEAD program alone accounts for the majority of the $65 billion in broadband funding the IIJA allocated to fuel broadband projects across the country. But Tribal communities are set to get their own dedicated influx of broadband funding, with money expected to flow in the coming months.

Local telecoms and cooperatives continue to organize to improve connectivity in their states, with Indiana becoming the latest hub of activity. A group of 17 internet service providers and cooperatives formed Hoosier Net, a consortium which aims to leverage members’ fiber assets to offer statewide middle mile infrastructure. Indiana previously had a statewide fiber provider called Intelligent Fiber Network which boasted more than 5,000 route miles of infrastructure.

An ambitious plan to bring affordable high-speed internet to millions of people across New York City (NY) has been put on pause, leaving the poorest New Yorkers hanging while the Adams administration decides whether to proceed. The Internet Master Plan, which was announced in January 2020 by former Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NY), was designed to help more than 1.5 million city residents who do not have any kind of internet access. It also aimed to bring more competition to areas with only one internet provider.

More than 5,000 public buildings–including schools, hospitals and libraries–have been connected to high-speed broadband thanks to a United Kingdom Government scheme to level up public services. 1,200 schools, 340 libraries and 50 hospitals across UK are among those connected to gigabit-speed broadband.