Business Oregon’s Oregon Broadband Office is pleased to announce a major milestone for grantees of the Digital Connectivity Technology Program: Project Implementation Completion. Through DCTP, organizations across Oregon have expanded access to internet-enabled technology and Wi-Fi at no cost to community members who need it the most. Projects have established and enhanced public computing labs, device lending programs, and public Wi-Fi access, helping communities connect to the digital tools and resources they need for work, education, health care, and everyday life.

The Oklahoma Broadband Office is celebrating the completion of eight broadband infrastructure projects by Indian Electric Cooperative that will expand fiber-optic connectivity across several rural Oklahoma communities. The projects were funded through Oklahoma’s American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund broadband program. IEC received approximately $17.7 million for four last-mile and four middle-mile projects. 

Governments spend billions of dollars to bring broadband to places that lack it. This report asks how much of the new service in the places six programs came from the subsidies, and how much would have arrived anyway. We compare the areas each program funded with similar areas it did not fund, track both over time, and call the difference the program’s effect. The main measure is access, whether a location can buy at least 100/20 Mbps from a wired or licensed wireless provider.

The Oklahoma Broadband Office is celebrating the completion of two broadband expansion projects by Lake Region Technology & Communications that are bringing fiber-optic internet service to communities in Wagoner County. The projects were funded through Oklahoma’s American Rescue Plan Act Capital Projects Fund broadband program. Lake Region received approximately $756,000 across two projects to expand high-speed internet infrastructure in and around the towns of Okay and Porter.

Oklahoma is now 95 percent of the way toward reaching statewide connectivity, with Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment builds still ahead. But deploying last-mile broadband networks is just one aspect of closing the digital divide.

One of the most interesting positive things that came out of the COVID pandemic was that communities and organizations across the country deployed public WiFi hotspots. This was done at the time to support students and workers who were expected to find a way to work remotely. And this worked well in a lot of places, and I’ve talked to communities who said the public flocked to the free WiFi during the pandemic. There was another benefit of the free hot spots—they created places where people who couldn’t afford broadband suddenly had a place to access the Internet.

U.S. states and territories are making progress on their broadband goals this summer. A number of state-run initiatives have been launched, and several infrastructure projects are in full swing. While it's easy to have all eyes on the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program—and, hypocritically, more on that later—there are countless other actions states are taking to ensure robust broadband access and universal digital adoption. From infrastructure planning to deployment to increasing awareness and resources, states are doing it all.

Louisiana has crossed the $100 million mark in GUMBO 1.0 infrastructure payments—a major milestone in the state's broader effort to achieve full statewide broadband coverage by 2028, two years ahead of the federal goal. Funded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Capital Projects Fund, ConnectLA has distributed $102,308,955 to participating internet service providers, representing 83.9 percent of total GUMBO 1.0 awards.

Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), the public agency expanding connectivity and digital opportunity statewide, announces $3.3 million in grant awards for capital improvements to make economic and social opportunity possible for individuals and communities through digital access.

Rep Addison McDowell (R-NC-06) introduced the Broadband Infrastructure Extension Act. This legislation would extend expenditure deadlines for certain broadband infrastructure projects funded through the American Rescue Plan Act.