November 2025

Wi-Fi Woes: State may return $350M in fed funding meant to boost Nebraskans’ broadband

There were originally about 30,000 locations in Nebraska eligible for Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) Program support. But federal changes to that program—then the way Nebraska implemented those changes— vastly cut the number of Nebraska locations and appear to have left thousands out of luck. Nebraska now plans to use only 11% of the federal money provided to the state, third lowest in the country, according to a

Gov. Morrisey Announces Trump Administration Approval of Sweeping New Broadband Coverage

Governor Patrick Morrisey (R-WV) announced that the Trump Administration formally approved West Virginia’s broadband development plan, clearing the way for the state to begin connecting more than 73,000 additional locations to reliable high-speed internet services. This broadband initiative is a central component of West Virginia's planned investment in the state’s energy sector, manufacturing growth, and rural health transformation.

From Gig City to Quantum City: The Value of Fiber Optic Infrastructure in Hamilton County, TN 2011-2035

This study computes the realized economic value of fiber optic infrastructure in Hamilton County and the city of Chattanooga over a 15-year period from 2011 to 2025. Our estimates show that the economic value of high-speed broadband and the smart grid exceeds $5.3 billion and 10,420 jobs over the study period. The incremental value of the infrastructure exceeds the cost by a factor of 6.4x. Each county resident is estimated to have benefited by about $936 per year due to the incremental value generated by the fiber-optic infrastructure.