Infrastructure

In “Digital and Equity and Justice in Maryland: Challenges and Opportunities” recently published by Economic Action Maryland, I present findings from a qualitative study that sought to answer the following research question: What is the landscape of issues related to universal broadband access, digital equity, and related community standards in Baltimore City and across the state of Maryland? My hope was that the findings would be useful for residents, policymakers, and other stakeholders interested in advancing broadband access and d

More than one-fifth of Arkansans don't have access to broadband, making the Natural State the third worst in the nation for internet access, according to BroadbandNow. Even in Saline County, home to many residents who commute to jobs in the Little Rock metropolitan area, officials and homeowners say some remain stuck with internet speeds that recall the dial-up era. County officials, though, recently formed a broadband committee to determine what steps are needed to get faster internet to residents

President Joe Biden announced over $5 billion in new investments from his Investing in America agenda—including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act—to advance rural prosperity, economic development, competition, and sustainability. $274 Million to Expand Critical Rural High-Speed Internet Infrastructure: the Department of Agriculture announced nearly $274 million across 16 grant and loan awards to expand access to high-speed internet for people living and working across eight states.

The Federal Communications Commission established a mechanism by which a participating provider in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) can apply to offer an enhanced monthly discount of up to $75 for broadband services to ACP-enrolled households in a high-cost area, upon the provider’s showing of particularized economic hardship. Now the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau provides additional information on the application process and announces that ACP providers may begin submitting applications on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 seeking approval to offer the high-cost area benefit in a gi

The Federal Communications Commission launched an inquiry to kick off the agency’s evaluation of the state of broadband across the country, as required by section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Ting Internet, a division of Tucows, has been selected to provide fiber internet service to Memphis residents, businesses, and institutions in partnership with Blue Suede Networks. Ting and Blue Suede Networks created a partnership with financially sustainable goals for both parties.

Virginia became the second state in the nation to begin its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program challenge process, kicking off the process one week after approval of its plan by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Virginia’s challenge process is being carried out through a partnership with Virginia Tech Center for Geospatial Information Technology—to provide the challenge process portal—and Ready, which is supporting Virginia’s challenge effort with its public map and speed test portal. Virginia has identified 134,221 unserved and 27,806 unders

Frontier Communications Parent reported third-quarter 2023 results. The company passed 332,000 new fiber locations and added 79,000 fiber broadband customers, resulting in fiber broadband customer growth of 19% year-over-year.

Lumen Technologies reported results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023. The company reported a loss of $78 million on $578 million of net income. The company is laying off four percent of its employees. Lumen also struck a deal with a group of creditors holding more than $7 billion of company debt that will extend debt securities and commit $1.2 billion of financing through new long-term debt. Lumen also dialed back the pace of the ongoing fiber buildout at its Mass Markets unit.

The Oregon Broadband Office (OBO) released the draft State of Oregon Digital Equity Plan which outlines how Oregon will use federal funds to provide reliable, affordable, high-speed internet, computing devices, and digital skills training to people who need it most. OBO developed the draft Digital Equity Plan after a robust public engagement and planning process to capture the diverse voices and lived experiences of all people and to identify the needs and barriers to digital equity. The draft State of Oregon Digital Equity Plan contains seven key sections.