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

Windstream is targeting roughly 8,300 additional locations in Georgia with its Kinetic fiber network, thanks to a new public-private partnership with the state’s Union County. The $20.5 million project will provide fiber to homes, businesses, and schools across Blairsville, Suches, and nearby parts of the county. Kinetic plans to lay about 550 miles of underground optical fiber cable for the deployments, which are expected to be completed in 2024. Union County is committing $11.2 million in state grant money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), along with $500,000 in matching funds.

What challenges exist at the federal, state, and local levels that delay or burden broadband deployment?  How can Congress help expedite or streamline the process for broadband deployment? Is attaching telecommunications equipment on municipally or cooperatively-owned poles more difficult or expensive than on other poles?

Georgia’s Clayton County, a growing community that includes Hartsfield Airport, has been ignored by large providers that have not upgraded their broadband facilities to support higher speeds necessary for remote work and learning. This leaves many residents, many of whom are low- or middle-income, with slow-speed DSL or cable connections. The lack of broadband facilities is just one problem for the county.

Around 130,000 households across Bexar County lack adequate internet access, per a 2021 

Several local politicians ask me why they should pursue getting grant funding for their county since Starlink satellite and fixed-wireless access (FWA) cellular broadband seem like good broadband alternatives that are already here today. I hate to tell them that these technologies are not a good permanent solution. At the same time, I stress that they should be promoting these technologies to make sure that folks know there are some better alternatives available today than other extremely slow broadband options.

Warren County (OH) and altafiber announced a new partnership to bring gigabit high-speed broadband fiber Internet access to approximately 52,000 addresses over the next 36-48 months. Upon completion of the project, 100 percent of Warren County’s single-family residences will have access to fiber-based Internet. altafiber’s total investment in the project will be approximately $100 million, which includes bringing fiber to 50,000 Single Family Units, as well as 2,000 Multi-Dwelling Units.

Ottawa County (MI) will extend broadband internet service to unserved and underserved areas of the county through a $27 million public-private partnership with a southeast Michigan firm, Southfield-based 123Net. The company will invest $3.5 million as part of a proposed $27 million project to extend 383 miles of fiber-optic lines across the county that initially would pass by nearly 10,000 addresses and could expand in the future.

The American Rescue Plan has helped to power one of the strongest and most equitable recoveries on record while making investments which position our nation for economic success in the coming decades. Over 30,000 state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments have received State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and made $24.3 billion in critical infrastructure investments in broadband, water, and sewer. Governments have reported budgeting nearly $7.3 billion in SLFRF funds towards broadband.

The Federal Communications Commission is targeting approximately $66 million through the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program to drive awareness and enrollment in the country’s newest and largest broadband affordability program in the nation’s history.