State

Governments spend billions of dollars to bring broadband to places that lack it. This report asks how much of the new service in the places six programs came from the subsidies, and how much would have arrived anyway. We compare the areas each program funded with similar areas it did not fund, track both over time, and call the difference the program’s effect. The main measure is access, whether a location can buy at least 100/20 Mbps from a wired or licensed wireless provider.

Nearly 75 percent of school districts in North Carolina report they don't have a sustainable funding source to maintain their fleet of computers, including student devices like Chromebooks. North Carolina public schools collectively spent more than $6.6 million last school year to repair broken computers. That's according to a new report, the first of its kind, by the Department of Public Instruction that was presented to the State Board of Education.

There is ample evidence of jurisdictions adopting a variety of egregious permitting practices, spanning fees, requirements, timelines, and approvals. The pervasiveness of these practices, including across jurisdiction type and size/density, and the resulting economic harm to wireline deployment make them worth intervention. Our economic modeling identified the permitting practices with the greatest negative impact on wireline deployment.

Spectrum announced completion of its multi-year rural construction initiative to expand its fiber broadband network, making Spectrum Internet services available to more than 1,300 homes and small businesses in Somerset County (MD). The expansion encompassed more than 133 miles of construction. Combined with state and County contributions totaling more than $10.3 million, total project investment, including more than $2.1 million from Spectrum, is more than $12.5 million.

While broadband advocates appear to broadly support the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's move to open up a supplemental funding round to reach remaining unserved Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program locations, it's also clear that many are 

The Oklahoma Broadband Office is celebrating the completion of two broadband expansion projects by Lake Region Technology & Communications that are bringing fiber-optic internet service to communities in Wagoner County. The projects were funded through Oklahoma’s American Rescue Plan Act Capital Projects Fund broadband program. Lake Region received approximately $756,000 across two projects to expand high-speed internet infrastructure in and around the towns of Okay and Porter.

The Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program is coming back, and applications could open as soon as December. After a federal court ruled in July that the administration could not simply cancel the program, the Commerce Department committed to reopening it under a new Notice of Funding Opportunity. That is good news for the field. But the application window is likely to be short and badly timed, and the organizations that start preparing now will be best placed to compete. Finding the right partner can make or break a joint application, and the clock is already running.

Researchers from Pennsylvania State University recently published an excellent report, Beyond Connectivity Among Rural First Responders in Pennsylvania. The report is based on the findings from focus groups and interviews with law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, 911 center representatives, local officials, and other key stakeholders. The in-depth discussions identified multiple problems that hinder public safety work in rural areas:

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Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed an executive order permanently declaring Artificial Intelligence to be called “Artificial Intelligence” in California. He also signed new first-in-the-nation legislation signed will protect people in the workplace from the impacts of artificial intelligence, automated technology, and AI-powered workplace surveillance.