Localism

Rural Vanderburgh County Indiana residents, businesses to have broadband access within two years

Residents in unincorporated areas of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, will have broadband access within two years. AT&T will begin work to provide service to an estimated 20,000 county homes and businesses now that funding has officially been approved by the Vanderburgh County Council. Vanderburgh County Commissioners signed the contract with AT&T on Nov 8 for the $39.6 million project. Bill Soards, president of AT&T Indiana, said it will be about nine months before residents start receiving information to tell them service is available in there area.

Community leaders join state to bring ubiquitous broadband to the San Joaquin Valley

Under the guidance of the San Joaquin Regional Broadband Consortium (SJVRBC), and with support from the California Emerging Technology Fund, the #SanJoaquinValleyNetwork initiative's goal is to bring ubiquitous broadband to the eight counties that compromise the San Joaquin Valley, among the most underserved regions of the state and underestimated in ability to lead and drive change. The San Joaquin Valley counties will be organizing and planning under the auspices of SJVRBC to obtain the maximum amount of financial assistance to implement the goals of #SanJoaquinValleyNetwork.

Project Empower: Cleveland’s Innovative Approach to Bridging the Digital Divide

Located on the shores of Lake Erie, Cleveland suffers from the highest rates of child poverty and the lowest rates of broadband access among the large cities in the United States.

Maine Towns Team Up to Establish Municipal Broadband Utility

A group of Waldo County (ME) residents is working to create an affordable broadband utility that every resident in Searsmont and four other towns should be able to access. The task force has been collecting data from residents and mapping the community's level of current Internet service, which members believe is low. To address this problem, Searsmont and the neighboring communities of Liberty, Palermo, Montville and Freedom have formed the Southwest Waldo County Broadband Coalition, which has a long-term plan of creating a municipally-owned public broadband utility.

CBRS Deployment in the Historic Fruit Belt Neighborhood

The Project OVERCOME pilot in Buffalo will provide equitable broadband access, enabling community members to engage with educational, telehealth, and government services. These services have been unattainable due to high internet costs and digital redlining. As part of the project, four Long-Term Evolution (LTE) antennas are being installed on top of the Buffalo General Medical Center (BGMC). These antennas will broadcast signals to the Fruit Belt using the newly available Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum.

Gov Newsom Returns Bill on Utility Pole Usage, Broadband

In a letter to the California State Senate, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) refused to sign Senate Bill 556 which would prohibit local electric utilities from "unreasonably denying" the leasing or licensing of utility poles to communications service providers. The bill would also require mobile service providers to measure and report their progress towards meeting the goal of universal broadband access for the areas they provide service.

A Systems Approach to Scaling Rural Co-op Efforts to Expand the Fiber Edge

In the late 1800s, people knew Turney, Missouri, as a major railroad stop. Today, little retail or industry remains in Turney, with Kansas City just a 30-minute drive away. Left behind by large internet service providers, the residents of Turney are gaining access to improved broadband access through the Project OVERCOME effort.

A Broadband Toolkit for Local Governments

Two federal laws passed in 2021 increased broadband funding to states by more than $20 billion. That’s on top of the $38 billion that the Federal Communications Commission can spend. And, if Congress passes the federal infrastructure bill, another $65 billion would head to states and cities with the goal of providing high-speed internet to nearly all Americans. The FCC estimates it would cost $80 billion to deliver broadband internet to everyone. All this spending would put us there.

Missouri PSC approves lease of Ameren fiber for broadband services

Missouri’s Public Service Commission (PSC) is allowing Ameren Missouri to lease a section of unused fiber to another company seeking to expand broadband coverage. Ameren sought a 20-year “dark fiber” lease agreement with MCC Network Services to provide internet service along a 1.6 mile stretch between where the Mississippi River crosses from Missouri to Illinois.

Tompkins County, New York, pivots to new rural broadband strategy, hoping for faster results

In the midst of budget season, the Tompkins County (NY) Legislature convened for its regular Tuesday night meeting on October 5, addressing a wide swath of topics. The largest decision made was the county’s pivot in its efforts to expand broadband internet to the rural reaches of the region. In 2020, the county commissioned a study by Southern Tier Network and Fujitsu IT Services to determine the true number of households without broadband service in the county.

Tupelo Teams With Co-Op on New Broadband Work

City officials in Tupelo (MS) allowed an electronic cooperative the option to use its utility poles to provide broadband services more efficiently to some Tupelo residents. The Tupelo City Council voted to accept a pole attachment agreement between the city and Tombigbee Fiber, which will allow the organization to place attachments on city-owned utility poles for broadband services. A small portion of city residents are customers of Tombigbee, but the organization does not offer broadband internet services citywide.

The Y-Zone: A Digital Opportunity Zone Offering Free Internet Access

Located along the Hudson River, Yonkers is the gateway between New York City and the Hudson Valley. Through Project OVERCOME, the leaders of the digital opportunity zone known as Yonkers Zone, or Y-Zone, will provide free Internet access to approximately 250-350 households in downtown Yonkers using spectrum in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) frequency band.

Robert Gallardo to assist with Indiana's Next Level Connections Broadband programs

The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) announced Purdue University's Roberto Gallardo will be assisting with the Next Level Connections Broadband Grant programs. In this role, Gallardo will be responsible for guiding the suite of rural broadband programs, including program delivery, compliance and reporting, trainings and policies, partnerships and fiscal integrity. Gallardo joins OCRA on a contractual basis and will continue to serve as the Director of the Purdue Center for Regional Development and a Purdue Extension Community & Regional Economics Specialist.

Project OVERCOME Overview

At least 42 million people do not have adequate Internet access to learn and work remotely, or effectively take advantage of telemedicine in the United States. One out of seven children lacks Internet access at home, increasing to nearly a third of households with an annual income of less than $20,000.

Waiting for Godot

As you might imagine, we thought there would be exciting news to share today about broadband. Not so much. As we wait for a vote on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (could it come today?

State and local governments must ensure broadband investments are driven by accurate data

There are several root causes of the digital divide: lack of available broadband, lack of affordable solutions and other barriers to adoption, such as digital literacy and housing instability. Though no one policy will solve all parts of the puzzle, and a comprehensive strategy is needed, public policy efforts can’t be effective without a better understanding of where gaps exist. We urge our colleagues in state and local governments to ensure investments are driven by detailed, reliable data.

New York Digital Inclusion Fund Opens Requests for Proposals

The New York Digital Inclusion Fund launched with exciting new grant opportunities for New York-based digital inclusion work.

Digital Inclusion Week Begins October 4, 2021

Digital Inclusion Week (DIW) is an annual campaign that recognizes local digital inclusion organizations and special events that promote digital equity across the country. Please join the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) October 4-8, 2021 – this will be its biggest Digital Inclusion Week ever, with seasoned practitioners and newly launched programs hosting virtual and in-person events. DIW aims to raise awareness of solutions addressing home internet access, personal devices, and local technology training and support programs.

DigitalC helps Cleveland try to bridge its digital divide

Non-profit wireless internet service provider DigitalC is using Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) and leveraging federal funds and private donations to subsidize broadband service and infrastructure deployment to last-mile homes in Cleveland (OH).

T-Mobile pushes rural focus with $25 Million in small town grants

T-Mobile has made rural America a clear aim, with a push on brand recognition alongside deployments, retail stores, and initiatives like its Hometown Grant program. The company announced 25 small town winners that are part of its five-year commitment to provide $25 million in grants for community projects, alongside earlier stated plans to hire 7,500 new employees in small towns and rural areas.

Treasury’s $10 Billion Capital Projects Fund Will Advance Digital Equity

The US Department of the Treasury released its long-awaited guidance for how states, territories, freely associated states, and Tribal governments can spend the $10 billion allocated in Section 604 of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for Capital Projects.

Community-Based Internet Providers Deliver World-Class Innovation to the Unserved

For the past two decades, community-based providers – that is, thousands of upstart internet service providers – have crisscrossed America, delivering internet access services with adeptness and skill. Using a potent combination of wireless spectrum and fiber, they deliver fixed connectivity to distant rural and hard to serve urban environments. In short, they’re small innovators and entrepreneurs offering needed choice for communities that have been effectively abandoned by legacy phone and cable providers.

First Tech Fund: Immigrant-founded nonprofit provides laptops, tech to students in need

First Tech Fund is a new nonprofit dedicated to closing the digital divide among underserved high school students in New York City. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the burgeoning digital divide among students of different economic backgrounds.

Diverse Infrastructure Solutions Are the Key to Closing the Digital Divide

The digital divide has remained stubbornly persistent for decades, even as the internet has become steadily more inextricable from daily life, business, health care, and education. Research group BroadbandNow estimates that 42 million Americans have no broadband access, while a depressing 120 million people in the US are without any connection fast enough to even call the internet, according to Microsoft. These disparities are particularly severe among Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and rural communities.