The unique thing about United Fiber is that they now have about 24,000 fiber subscribers and its parent company, United Electric, has 7500 members (10,000 meters). They are the only electric cooperative with more fiber subscribers than electric members in the country. Furthermore, they are a small cooperative with one of the lowest customer densities (2.5 meters per mile) in the State of Missouri. Darren Farnan, General Manager at United Fiber, will share how they have now built out the bulk of their membership (finishing in the next 12 months) in over 40 communities in Northwest Missouri.
AT&T’s early move to counteract inflation and raise prices was the right thing to do, according to AT&T Communications COO Jeff McElfresh. McElfresh said it’s always hard to raise prices, but AT&T’s price increase was for a segment of customers on the oldest rate plans that didn’t have access to 5G or the latest and greatest features and benefits. “We didn’t do a broad stroke across the entire customer base,” he said.
The House Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2023 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies funding bill on June 23, 2022. The bill provides over $4.2 billion for rural development programs and invests over $560 million for the expansion of broadband service, including $450 million for the ReConnect Program. The full bill summary can be found here.
Sens Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent letters to BetterHelp and Talkspace, two leading mental health apps, expressing deep concerns about the companies’ use of patients’ personal health data and requesting more information about their data sharing and privacy practices. Their letter follows reports that mental health apps are collecting, mining, and disseminating private client information to third parties, including data brokers and Big Tech companies like Google and Facebook.
Congress has set up a three-step process for states to receive their infrastructure money: submitting and gaining approval for 1) a letter of intent, 2) an initial proposal, and 3) a final proposal (collectively, a “covered application”). Upon receipt of the Letter of Intent, NTIA will provide the Point of Contact for each Eligible Entity instructions on how to submit a request for Initial Planning Funds through the application portal at https://grants.ntia.gov/.
Congress has set up a three-step process for states to receive their infrastructure money: submitting and gaining approval for 1) a letter of intent, 2) an initial proposal, and 3) a final proposal (collectively, a “covered application”). Letters of intent must include:
A statement that the Eligible Entity intends to participate in the Program;
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program's Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) includes workforce development as a critical component of state plans and applications for funding—and appropriately so, as creating good jobs and developing the broadband workforce necessary to deliver on this historic investment is a critical first step for any state or territory seeking to expand broadband to its unserved and underserved residents.
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