Wilson's (NC) community broadband, Greenlight, has stepped in to help teachers in the wake of COVID-19. Greenlight laid more than 3,000 feet of fiber optic cable to connect students and teachers and has added 150 new customers since the outbreak started. And they've seen outbound traffic skyrocket. Between Feb and April, outbound traffic increased by 23 percent in the 9 o'clock hour and 44 percent at noon. This is likely due to the rise of online conference calls.

The mounting human death toll and unfolding financial calamity of the current pandemic is one thing. But the ripple effects will last for years—and given the country’s bumbled handling of the virus itself, it seems an open question whether we’re in a strong position to respond and confront what comes after it. The US's ongoing, disastrous response to the pandemic—by almost any measure one of the worst in the developed world—is sending a clear message to other countries that the U.S.

In October 2019, the Federal Communications Commission released a Notice of Inquiry (NOI), launching its annual review to determine if broadband is reaching all Americans in a timely fashion. Back then, we examined the questions the FCC was asking and how they might color its decision.

During the Great Depression, people waited in bread lines for sustenance. In today's economic crisis, the internet is often the pathway for relief. Online is where people try to keep or find work. How they see their doctor or apply for jobless benefits. How they order food and supplies. Where they find solace through faith, or laughter through entertainment.

Democrats want to take $80 billion from taxpayers to create a new Washington bureaucracy to shovel money to politicians who think they are qualified to run a broadband network. Funding, subsidizing or otherwise creating a government “competitor” does not work. The last time politicians tried to sell this to Americans they claimed state and municipal governments could build and run high-speed broadband profit-making centers. They tried and failed again and again.

House Democrats are pushing to include more than $1 billion in the next economic relief package to help pay low-income Americans’ broadband bills. Democrats are said to be considering whether to distribute the aid through the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline program, which provides monthly discounts of $9.25 for about 7 million low-income subscribers, or through a new broadband subsidy program. The push is aimed at helping millions of low-income Americans and newly unemployed workers afford internet services to help them stay connected with family, look for jobs, and continue sc

House Democrats are putting the finishing touches on their next legislative response to the coronavirus pandemic, a package that will propose another massive round of aid just as President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans are urging caution on quickly passing new spending. The bill being drafted by Democratic leadership is expected to include more than $750 billion in aid to state and local governments, as well as another round of direct support to Americans. House Democrats also want to increase access to coronavirus testing, send money toward vote-by-mail programs and the Postal Servic

Social-media usage is blowing up, but will it crash when real-life invitations start flooding back in?

The Washington State Broadband Office estimates over 300 new drive-in Wi-Fi hotspots are coming online statewide through an initiative to bring free public broadband internet access to all residents. To date, 140 of the new drive-in hotspots are operational, in addition to 301 existing Washington State Library hotspots identified across the state.

CenturyLink CEO Jeff Storey said the companies' fiber-rich network was well suited to handle the increased demand for the company's services during the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, CenturyLink has seen a 30% to 40% growth in its backbone during the pandemic, and "a correspondingly significant increase in average usage across our CDN, end-user IP, voice and conferencing platforms," Storey said.  CenturyLink saw a net loss of 11,000 total broadband subscribers in the first quarter.