When the Wabash Heartland Innovation Network (WHIN) launched in late 2017 to develop north-central Indiana into a global epicenter for digital agriculture and the Internet of Things (IoT), it turned to Dr. Johnny Park for leadership. Since 2018, Park has served as CEO of WHIN and its pacesetting efforts in a 10-county area of the Hoosier state. Park joined WHIN from Spensa, a successful IoT agtech startup he founded. Named by Forbes as one of the Top 25 Most Innovative Ag-Tech Startups of 2017, Spensa used IoT devices and data analytics to help growers better manage agronomic pests such as insects, weeds, and disease. His early career was spent on the engineering faculty of his alma mater, Purdue University, and he also served on the Advisory Council on Agriculture, Small Business and Labor of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Recently, under Park’s leadership, the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded WHIN a $1.7 million grant to expand broadband connectivity in rural Indiana. This initiative is expected to create or retain more than 200 jobs and generate more than $10 million in private investment.

Gov. John Bel Edwards (D-LA) announced a $130 million investment from the American Rescue Plan to bring more affordable and accessible internet to more than 66,000 households and small businesses through Internet Service Providers in 50 parishes. Applications for the first phase of the grant were submitted through Louisiana’s broadband grant program called Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities (GUMBO). The total investment from the American Rescue Plan is $176 million, out of which $130 million is being used for this first phase. Parishes not included in this first round will have another opportunity to participate in the program. (see all GUMBO awards) Fierce reports that a small local telecom called Star Communications emerged the top winner of grants but top tier players AT&T, Altice USA, Charter Communications and Comcast each also walked away with a hefty chunk of change.

To address the estimated 462,000 Louisianians who lack basic digital literacy skills, ConnectLA, the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Louisiana Department of Education and the State Library of Louisiana have partnered to establish pilot programs in multiple parishes to reduce the digital illiteracy rate in those parishes by 50 percent over five years. Today, Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Kim Hunter Reed announced the launch of five Digital Literacy & Inclusion Pilot sites embedded in rural and urban library branches.  The pilot sites are designed to not only increase access to high-speed digital resources, but also improve the overall computer and internet literacy of individuals living near those library locations.  Parishes housing the five Digital Literacy & Inclusion Pilot sites include: East Carroll, Jefferson, Livingston, Rapides and West Feliciana. Each site is set to receive $20,000 to assess their community’s needs for digital literacy and provide instructional opportunities such as skills assessment, self-directed on-line learning, and digital skill building. These activities will be conducted by a team of 55 professional librarians and staff appointed to serve as Digital Navigators (DNs).  DNs for the pilot sites have already completed more than 11 hours of training through the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and Northstar Digital Literacy to ensure the successful launch of each program’s activities.

Gov Phil Scott (R-VT) announced $48 million in new grants to Vermont’s communications union districts, the municipal organizations working to connect homes that are without a reliable wireline connection to fiber-optic cable. Vermont has an ambitious plan that combines private investment and public funds to connect every resident with fiber-optic cable. For the largely rural regions of the state without access to high-speed internet, Vermont is relying on a strategy of allowing municipalities to band together into communications union districts to build fiber-optic service. Christine Hallquist, executive director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board, said including the $48 million announced July 22, the organization has awarded $96 million in grants to these communications union districts since August 2021. That figure includes $9.2 million to buy materials up to a year ahead of time in an effort to avoid supply-chain problems and to lock in prices during a period of inflation.

The United States has long struggled with a health care system that is both expensive and often inaccessible when it comes to providing certain populations with equitable care. The White House and Congress acted quickly to transition patients to telehealth during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the future adoption and use of telehealth will depend on how the U.S. health care system addresses coverage and reimbursement, medical licensure, and service modalities. Equally important is policy coherence, or a “telehealth 2.0 roadmap”, to effectively harmonize the goals of value-based care, health disparities, and digital access. This approach to telehealth can improve patient outcomes, offer more inclusive telehealth adoption, and increase ways in which health care is delivered and received as the nation continues to mitigate the public health crisis. In this paper, we propose flexibilities within the current health care system that accommodate the changes imposed by new technologies, as well as continued government incentives to drive more competitive options and alternatives for health care delivery. In the end, we argue that government must continue to promote the use of remote health care and leverage national investments in broadband infrastructure to drive the complementary use of telehealth with traditional health care. We also propose that current modality flexibilities remain in place, especially as the nation undergoes efforts to close the digital divide. Finally, telehealth must be positioned and implemented in coordination with value-based payments to ensure patient access to meaningful care that can be bolstered and not substituted by existing and emerging health care technologies.