Coverage of how Internet service is deployed, used and regulated.
Internet/Broadband
Digital Divide Policy Enters the National Conversation
The digital divide is a complicated technical and political policy issue in the U.S., with unique urban and rural challenges. Some 2020 candidates are recognizing the importance of the issue and spreading awareness. But if we’re seeking to bring affordable, high-capacity broadband to all people in the U.S., both access and adoption challenges need to be addressed. And policymakers must take into account the role competition must play in these two challenges.
This is a workshop for local broadband stakeholders in Washington State to learn about digital applications, broadband solutions, and Federal and State grant and loan programs. This one-day workshop is designed to inform and engage civic leaders, businesses, and community champions, and ultimately help reshape our communities and drive rural prosperity.
This is a workshop for local broadband stakeholders in Washington State to learn about digital applications, broadband solutions, and Federal and State grant and loan programs. This one-day workshop is designed to inform and engage civic leaders, businesses, and community champions, and ultimately help reshape our communities and drive rural prosperity.
Learn about the planning process and resources available to help expand broadband infrastructure in your community.
This one-day workshop, designed to inform and engage civic leaders, businesses, and community champions, will feature local experts and provide:
Rural America cannot be overlooked
The Federal Communications Commission recently announced that it was authorizing nearly $5 million to invest in expanding rural broadband access across South Dakota.
The one-day workshops are designed for civic leaders, businesses, and community leaders who are working to improve economic opportunities in rural areas. The sessions will include panels on digital applications and broadband solutions, and provide information on federal and state grant and loan programs. Facilitators will instruct participants in how to build broadband action teams, access and analyze data, inventory assets, and create local plans.
Broadband Research Base
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance and the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program have partnered to create the Broadband Research Base, a searchable collection of reports, studies and journal articles that address the impact of broadband and digital inclusion on community and individual well-being. Has anybody studied the impact of broadband availability, speed or adoption on local economic growth? On K-12 education? On health care?
Central Alabama Will See High Speeds Thanks to Electric Cooperative
Central Alabama Electric Cooperative (CAEC) will join the increasing number of electric cooperatives that provide broadband access. CAEC plans to construct the network, named CAEC Access, with a phased approach. Phase 1 will connect the co-op’s 24 electrical substations and six main offices with a 365-mile fiber ring.
Common Networks offers 300 Mbps fixed wireless
Common Networks, a Silicon Valley startup founded by former executives from payment company Square, announced the next stage in its fixed wireless broadband strategy with the launch of a symmetric 300 Megabits per second (Mbps) service for $49 per month. Common Networks is roughly three and a half years old, and said its fixed wireless broadband is made possible through the use of proprietary software built on open 5G technology, millimeter wave (mmWave) radio and its own software stack.
Canada's telecommunications regulator lowers wholesale broadband rates to boost competition among providers
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Canada's telecommunications regulator, says it has lowered the rates for wholesale broadband access as it looks to increase competition among internet providers. The lower rates announced by the CRTC means it will be cheaper for smaller internet providers to buy broadband capacity on the networks owned by the big telecom providers. The CRTC requires that the large cable and telephone companies make available parts of their network, at rates set by the regulator, to improve competition and lower prices.