Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D-AZ) expressed deep concern and disappointment following the abrupt placement of staff on administrative leave at the Institute of Museum and Library Services, leaving federal grants to local libraries in jeopardy. “Federal grants are basically tax dollars being put to work in a smart way to help the people who paid them in. The reckless layoff of IMLS staff is a devastating act of sabotage,” said Secretary Fontes. “This decision will ripple in ways that could deny access to learning, legal resources, broadband support, and historical preservation to millions of Arizonans, especially those in rural, tribal, and underserved communities. I’ve instructed my office to look at all available options to keep these programs running.” In Arizona, IMLS funding is vital to statewide initiatives and direct support for local libraries. The Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records is still assessing just how deep the impact of funding cuts will go, but the consequences are already clear: contracts have been terminated for LAPR staff who deliver Digital Navigator services, a support that many communities rely on.

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance, in partnership with AMERIND Critical Infrastructure, is proud to present the very first ever awardees of the Seven Star Communities program. 

• Gila River Indian Community
• Gila River Telecommunications, Inc.
• Mohawk Networks LLC
• Alliance for Navajo Broadband
• Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
• Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District
• Sṕq́ńiʔ Broadband Services
• Pueblo of Jemez

Seven Star Communities are Tribal governments, political subdivisions, or Tribal organizations who are serving Native people and lands. They are models of excellence for sustainable connectivity solutions that address the educational, health, economic, cultural, and social needs of their Tribal community.

A new lawsuit from fiber operator Metronet accuses officials from the City of Colorado Springs of blocking the company's fiber network construction efforts in the city. The reason? The city's utility is building its own, rival fiber network. "Since 2022, beginning in Colorado Springs, Metronet has invested significant time, resources and money into building fiber networks throughout the state of Colorado," Metronet wrote in its complaint. "But the city is now unlawfully blocking Metronet's deployment of fiber optic facilities to offer Internet connectivity, data and telecommunications services in competition with existing providers and other potential competitors including, most notably, the city's municipal utility." Colorado Springs Utilities is a community-owned, not-for-profit utility providing electric, natural gas, water and wastewater services in Colorado Springs, Colorado, serving several hundred thousand customers. In January 2022, CSU announced it would add XGS-PON fiber to its lineup of offerings under an open access model. 

Anybody who lives in an urban or suburban area know that cell coverage is not the same everywhere. There are neighborhoods with great cell coverage, neighborhoods with so-so  coverage, and neighborhood with little or no coverage. Nobody understands this better than first responders and city employees who work in all parts of a city. The good news is there is a way for cities to tackle the cellular coverage issue. My consulting firm recently helped a city in a major urban area that knew it had poor cell coverage. Using various tools, we were able to fully map all of the important factors that measure cell phone call quality. We were able to create separate coverage maps for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, which is important because every carrier has distinctly different coverage areas based on the specific cell sites and frequencies they are using. Probably the best result of this study was a map that showed the unfortunate neighborhoods where all three carriers have poor coverage. We think cities will find a cellular mapping study to be invaluable. For the first time, they’ll be able to visualize cellular coverage in ways they can understand. 

A majority of global technology experts say the likely magnitude of change in humans’ native capacities and behaviors as they adapt to artificial intelligence will be “deep and meaningful,” or even “dramatic” over the next decade. The results are based on a canvassing of a select group of experts between Dec 27, 2024, and Feb 1, 2025. Nearly 200 of the experts wrote full-length essays on the primary topic: Being Human in the Age of AI. An overwhelming majority of those who wrote essays focused their remarks on the potential problems they foresee. While they said the use of AI will be a boon to society in many important—and even vital—regards, most are worried about what they consider to be the fragile future of some foundational and unique traits. At the same time, a plurality of these experts’ essays are leavened by glimmers of hope that ever-adaptable humans will find ways to prevail and even flourish.