Universal Broadband

The Biden Administration announced that Civic Nation and the US Department of Education are launching Online For All, a digital equity campaign working to close the digital divide by focusing on internet access, affordability, and equity for students, families, and all Americans. Online For All will work with nonprofit, government, corporate, and media stakeholders to educate communities about how the Biden-Harris Internet for All Initiative can help them access reliable, affordable high-speed internet. The partnership is kicking off with a Week of Ac

As states act to capitalize on federal broadband funding, Louisiana has been leading the way.

Governor Brian P. Kemp (R-GA) committed nearly $15 million in preliminary grant awards for broadband internet expansion through the second round of the Capital Projects Fund (CPF) Grant Program. These awards will improve connectivity for communities, households, businesses, and anchor institutions in four Georgia counties. When combined with significant capital matches from the awardees, almost $30 million will be invested to serve over 3,500 locations in areas most in need of high-speed internet access. The county awardees are as follows:

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) granted the US Virgin Islands (USVI) its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative.

Since 2019, Governor Brad Little (R-ID) and the Idaho legislature have taken many steps to improve broadband access in the state. Through investment of federal and state funding, Idaho has been able to connect tens of thousands of underserved households in the state, the majority of which are in rural communities of less than 3,000 residents. Policymakers there have primarily focused on the digital divide between urban and rural areas. Inadequate access to high-speed internet disadvantages Idahoans who choose to live in rural parts of our state.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced $714 million in grants and loans to connect thousands of rural residents, farmers, and business owners in 19 states to reliable, affordable high-speed internet. The announcement includes $714 million in USDA investments in Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington. Some examples include:

An analysis of data from the latest version of the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Map, which the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will use to allocate $42.5 billion in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding later in June 2023, reveals some interesting trends that affect rural customers. The data shows that Texas has 777,115 “unserved” Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs).  Texas has 364,991 BSLs that are considered “underserved,” meaning that they are able to receive broadband service above 25/3 Mbps but below 100/2

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is scheduled to release state funding allocations for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program by the end of June 2023. The allocations will be based on the latest version of the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Map released in late May 2023.

Over more than a decade, states have invested billions of dollars to extend broadband service to areas without high-speed internet. But now states are increasingly grappling with how to identify and connect unserved homes and businesses that are just out of reach of nearby last-mile infrastructure—the segment of a broadband network that connects a local internet service provider (ISP) to a customer—in areas that are otherwise served. Eight states—Califor

The Thompson Scholars Foundation is based in the Town Branch neighborhood of Manchester, Kentucky. We provide wraparound after-school academic enrichment to historically underserved populations in Clay County in the Appalachian region of southeast Kentucky, one of the areas in the United States hardest hit by poverty. Our work with disadvantaged students has also meant a focus on digital equity because bridging the digital divide is essential to our community’s future. Our programming promotes diversity and inclusion.