Gov Reynolds (R-IA) and the Department of Management Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) announced the release of a new broadband map of Iowa, reporting the conditions of broadband availability in accordance with federal grant guidelines at over 1 million locations throughout the state. The public can view the map here.
The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband held a hearing entitled Future of Spectrum to examine the management of spectrum. The Federal Communications Commission's spectrum auction authority is set to expire at the end of September. Congress has a unique opportunity to set future spectrum priorities and coordination goals to encourage efficient spectrum use. The hearing aimed to examine important policy considerations to ensure spectrum is utilized for the greatest benefit to the public.
The US Department of the Treasury approved Delaware’s plan to invest $40.3 million of Capital Projects Fund funding in nine libraries to provide communities with public access to the internet and expanded resources. Delaware’s plan states that each of the library projects will provide access to highspeed internet for community members who may lack access in their homes. Capital Projects Fund dollars will be used to construct new or expand existing libraries in Delaware to meet the needs of identified communities.
The case for internet access as a human right remains a hotly debated subject. However, in the post-pandemic world, it’s one that is becoming increasingly skewed toward the affirmative. Data Reportal reports that 63 percent of the world uses the internet daily. When internet access is a requirement of functionality in the modern world, when does it become a human right? As the world has exited the stages of lockdowns and quarantines, the internet has remained in the spotlight.
Consolidated Communications announced that Clio Subsidiary has entered into an agreement to sell its limited partnership interests in five wireless partnerships managed by Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, to Cellco for an aggregate purchase price of $490 million. The net proceeds of the sales will be invested in the business and used to support Consolidated’s Fiber to the Premises build plan. The sales are expected to close by the end of 2022, subject to certain closing conditions and third-party purchase rights available to other partners in the partnerships.
In March 2010, Google Fiber burst onto the Internet provider scene, offering cities the promise of high-speed broadband service. That promise, however, became an increasingly complicated proposition that eventually forced the company to pause expansion efforts in 2016. When Google Fiber first launched, it offered cities Internet that reached speeds up to 1 gigabit per second. To put this into perspective, the average household in the US has an Internet connection of just under 20 megabits per second (Mbps), according to Lifewire. Typical high-speed service ranges between 25 and 75 Mbps.
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