Phil Britt

The Colorado broadband office offered an update on Round 2 of their Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants applicant activity. The office closed the second application window through its Advance Colorado Broadband grant program at the end of February. During the second round, the office received 96 applications from 22 companies for a proposed $825 million total investment, including $649,000 in requested funding and $176 million in matching funds.

A new report from Reviews.org shows that Rhode Island is the best state for fiber availability, with the technology available to 80.19% of households. Conversely, the worst state is Alaska, with the technology available to only 9.18% of households. The information is based on data contained in the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Map. The report also notes that 46% of American homes have access to fiber, compared to 82% that have access to cable internet.

The Missouri Office of Broadband Development announced that the year’s first round of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding is closed. During this initial round, OBD received a total of 519 applications, which would bring broadband to more than 192,000 of the state’s residents and businesses. OBD said this represents 90 percent of the locations eligible for the funding. Nearly $4 million in funding was requested. The next step will be for OBD to review those applications.

Heartland Forward is launching an initiative to expand telehealth access in Arkansas and Oklahoma by teaching librarians how to prepare community members for a telehealth visit.

Comcast is expanding its Xfinity fiber network to nearly 73,000 additional homes and businesses in Fairfield County (CT). The fiber network expansion will include Xfinity Internet and Xfinity Mobile as well as Comcast Business Internet and Comcast Business Mobile. In addition to its fiber build-out, over the last three years Comcast has provided $12.4 million in cash and in-kind charitable contributions to support 195 nonprofits across Connecticut. 

Wi-Fi provider Andrena has raised $18 million to develop its plans to provide decentralized broadband. More specifically, the telecommunications firm plans to further develop a decentralized autonomous wireless network (DAWN), which is a variety of decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN). DAWN is already operating in a test environment. If it works as expected, DAWN would enable customers to take advantage of wireless base stations on rooftops, which, when combined, would provide mesh internet access without the need for a centralized internet provider.

The latest example of a broadband/electric partnership — pairing a fiber provider with a utility company for a broadband deployment — comes from Accelecom and the Franklin Electric Plant Board (Franklin EPB). They are joining forces to enable Franklin EPB to deliver high-speed internet services to the businesses and residents of Franklin, Kentucky.

SpaceX’s Starlink Mini satellite is now available for everyone in the United States. Starlink Mini is a compact, portable kit designed to be able to fit in a backpack, enabling the user to have high-speed, low-latency internet on the go. The service promises speeds of 5-50 Mbps, with setup possible in as little as two minutes. The standard Starlink service plan offers 150-250 Mbps. The base hardware for the Starlink Mini is available for $499. Service is available starting at $50 per month, which provides the user with 50 G of data.

Astound is the latest service provider to announce a low-income ACP (Affordable Connectivity Program) replacement service.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has now accepted digital equity plans from all 50 States, DC, and Puerto Rico.