The West Virginia Department of Economic Development, Office of Broadband (WVDED) has officially launched its Digital Equity Asset Map and Dashboard. The map is meant to show West Virginia residents and practitioners what digital inclusion resources are available throughout the Mountain State. Users can filter entities by county, type of organization, and type of resource provided. Because the information shown is currently incomplete, WVDED is accepting responses on its DE Asset Intake Form and will be updating the map regularly.

The Northeast Digital Equity Summit (NDES) convened educators and researchers from land-grant universities across the Northeast in a virtual setting on September 19, 2023. Organized by Penn State Extension, University of Maryland Extension (UME), Cornell Extension, and the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD), the primary emphasis of the summit was to explore how the inherent characteristics of extension programs make them well-suited for leading collaborative efforts toward achieving localized digital equity. This report provides an overview of key sessions, definitions, takeaways, initiatives, and best practices discussed during the summit.

Verizon and Frontier Communications announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Verizon to acquire Frontier in an all-cash transaction valued at $20 billion. This strategic acquisition of the largest pure-play fiber internet provider in the U.S. will significantly expand Verizon's fiber footprint across the nation, accelerating the company’s delivery of premium mobility and broadband services to current and new customers. It will also expand Verizon's intelligent edge network for digital innovations like artificial intelligence. Over approximately four years, Frontier has invested $4.1 billion upgrading and expanding its fiber network, and now derives more than 50 percent of its revenue from fiber products. Frontier’s 2.2 million fiber subscribers across 25 states will join Verizon’s approximately 7.4 million Fios connections1 in 9 states and Washington, D.C. In addition to Frontier’s 7.2 million fiber locations, the company is committed to its plan to build out an additional 2.8 million fiber locations by the end of 2026.