Department of Treasury

Comcast has extended its network to more than 32,000 homes and businesses across 16 rural counties in Florida. The expansion is funded through a public-private $322 million partnership with the state’s Broadband Opportunity Program and Capital Projects Fund, and brings gigabit-plus internet, mobile, entertainment, and home security services via Xfinity and Comcast Business to previously underserved communities.

President Trump issued an executive order in March calling for a shift by federal government agencies away from paper checks by September 30. Multiple organizations sent letters to the Treasury Department during the agency’s public comment period that ended June 30 raising an alarm about the potential impact such a swift, drastic change could have on marginalized Americans.  The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection noted that nearly 10% of households in New York City have no bank account, citing its own research.

Incomplete information can make it difficult for lawmakers to understand the effects of policy and for government entities to enforce grant recipients’ program requirements. Because federal broadband data focuses on information like the number of households with subscriptions, it lacks feedback on network quality and reliability, or on how consumers experience a broadband connection.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced that he is leading a coalition of 21 Attorneys General and the state of Pennsylvania in suing the Trump Administration over its unprecedented and unlawful attempts to invoke a single provision buried in the federal regulations to strip away billions of dollars in critical federal funding for states and other grantees.

It’s not just Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment delays we have to worry about.

In partnership with the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, GoNetspeed, the Northeast’s largest independent fiber optic network builder, celebrated its planned expansion into Newport (RI). Marking GoNetspeed’s first Rhode Island community, Newport also signifies a significant milestone for the company, as Rhode Island is the tenth state in GoNetspeed’s growing footprint. The combined $13 million investment was made possible through a $9 million award from Rhode Island Commerce Corporation’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF) with a $3.9 million match from GoNetspeed.

Kinetic and Thomas County announced the completion of a nearly $13.3 million fiber optic expansion project. Kinetic, the State of Georgia, and 25 counties have partnered to invest over $354 million in Georgia broadband infrastructure development since the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law in 2021. The Thomas County project has been generously funded through a combination of more than $6.8 million from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund (SFRF), and a county match of $1.3 million.

The Healey-Driscoll administration and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s (MassTech) Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) announced $22,260,701 in grants to upgrade internet access for 15,793 affordable housing units across 54 communities in Massachusetts. MBI provided the awards through the Residential Retrofit Program, an initiative that works with housing operators and internet service providers (ISPs) to upgrade broadband infrastructure in public and affordable housing properties.

Kinetic and Thomas County (GA) announced the completion of a nearly $13.3 million fiber optic expansion project. The Thomas County project has been generously funded through a combination of more than $6.8 million from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund and a county match of $1.3 million. To complete the project, Kinetic invested $5.1 million of its own funds to bolster Thomas County’s digital infrastructure and ensure that residents have access to reliable, fast internet services.

More than $53 million in middle-mile broadband expansion grants were recommended for approval by the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board. The Oklahoma middle-mile projects, recommended for approval by the Grants Review Committee, are funded by the American Rescue Plan Act’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. Several additional projects were recommended for approval “should funding become available.”