County

Providing internet to every household and small business by 2030 may not take a village, but it will require the efforts of local officials and service providers working together to pave the way for fast and efficient construction, an effort that the National Association of Counties (NACo) says its members have been steadily working on. “About two years ago, we put together NACo’s Broadband Task Force,” said Seamus Dowdall, NACo's Associate Legislative Director for Telecommunications & Technology. The task force generated a report to define how counties could facilitate the deployment o

Spectrum announced the launch of Spectrum Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice services to more than 300 homes and small businesses in Newberry County, South Carolina. Spectrum’s newly constructed fiber-optic network buildout in Newberry County is part of the company’s approximately $5 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF)-related investment in unserved rural communities, which includes $1 billion won in the Federal Communications Commission’s RDOF auction.

In the lead up to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) announcements of state Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) allocations expected at the end of June 2023, it’s vital to reflect on how far we’ve come already – not just in terms of the number of dollars committed or the number of locations served, but in proving that a public-private partnership model is one of the most effective paths forward in working to expand broadband access. Local leaders and industry partners have come together and made extraordinary progress building out broadband n

Governor Brian P. Kemp (R-GA) committed nearly $15 million in preliminary grant awards for broadband internet expansion through the second round of the Capital Projects Fund (CPF) Grant Program. These awards will improve connectivity for communities, households, businesses, and anchor institutions in four Georgia counties. When combined with significant capital matches from the awardees, almost $30 million will be invested to serve over 3,500 locations in areas most in need of high-speed internet access. The county awardees are as follows:

Berrien County’s 580 square miles encompasses 39 villages, townships, and cities. The county, situated on Lake Michigan’s eastern shore, is dominated by agriculture and tourism; many Chicago residents’ vacation homes are located here. A lack of broadband infrastructure in the county is actively threatening industrial innovation and hampering quality of life for residents as needs and demand for connectivity increase. As of today, the county has made substantial progress toward universal access within the community.

A North Carolina company is becoming recognized not only for its network expansion throughout the eastern part of the state but for its unique public-private partnerships that are bringing fiber-to-the-home in rural, underserved counties.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announces January 1, 2024 as the start date for the requirement to begin one year of pre-testing and reporting of speed and latency results for the Bringing Together Puerto Rico Fund Stage and the Connect USVI Fund Stage 2. Testing will begin on January 1, 2025. For the carriers participating in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), pre-testing will begin on January 1, 2025, and testing will begin on January 1, 2026.

Connect Humanity is investing in a fiber network in Macon County, Alabama. The Macon County Economic Development Authority (MCEDA) has been working diligently to expand internet access in the county, where 40% of families have lacked access to home internet at broadband speeds. With support from Rural LISC, MCEDA entered into a public private partnership with rural internet provider Point Broadband to build out a fiber network that would deliver quality, affordable broadband to families and businesses across the county.

A $10 million project to bring broadband to rural areas of Lancaster County (NE) is underway, thanks to federal stimulus dollars earmarked by Lancaster County commissioners for the project. The project will install 175 miles of conduit throughout Lancaster County to and between the 12 incorporated cities and villages, and 10 unincorporated communities, according to county officials. Once that's done, telecommunications companies will lease the conduit from the county to install fiber technology to bring services to residents and businesses. In January 2022, the County Board committed $10 mi