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  2. February 2021

February 2021

‘It’s just not right’: Chicago area seniors deal with digital divide when making vaccine appointments

With many seniors not plugged into today’s digital world, some are getting confused when it comes to making or rescheduling vaccine appointments. One senior was so frustrated, she just gave up. “The whole world can’t think that everybody has a computer and an email to do this stuff,” Pat Cash said. Woodale (IL) senior Pat Cash said she wasn’t notified that her COVID-19 appointment had been changed because she doesn’t have a smartphone. “I was just like livid because I have a set time I was told to be there, early nobody’s there to talk to everything’s locked up,” she said.

LTD Broadband Taps Aviat Networks for Key Role in Rural Broadband Network Expansion

Aviat Networks announced that LTD Broadband, an internet service provider (ISP) and top recipient in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction with a total of $1.3 billion in funding, will deploy Aviat's WTM 4000 microwave and multi-band platform systems in its network middle mile and for fiber redundancy. The company has already deployed these Aviat systems in its current network, which delivers high-speed connectivity to commercial and residential subscribers in IA, MN, WI, SD, NE, and KS, with other states in planning as part of the company's RDOF expansion.

The big wireless merger you've never heard of

Verizon's $6.2 billion bid to buy wireless company TracFone has raised concerns that the deal could cut off access to affordable mobile phone service. The deal has flown under the radar, but TracFone is one of the nation's largest providers of subsidized cell phone service for low income people, an especially important program during the coronavirus pandemic — and one that Verizon hasn't traditionally focused on. The Justice Department declined to dig deeper into the deal in November, signaling that it didn't raise competition concerns.

Governors Start 2021 By Expanding Access To Broadband

As Governors continue to deliver their State of the State Addresses, expanding affordable, high-speed internet access has emerged as a key priority for states and territories in 2021.

Data Analytics Can Improve How We Design Broadband Strategies

Internet access is essential for economic development and helping to deliver the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially as even basic broadband can revolutionize the opportunities available to users. Yet, more than one billion people globally still live in areas without internet connectivity. Governments must make strategic choices to connect these citizens, but currently have few independent, transparent, and scientifically reproducible tools to rely on.

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