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Washington DC Earmarks $61.3 Million In Rescue Plan Funds For Broadband, Community Improvements
Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has announced that the District is poised to use $61.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to “support the construction of community facilities” and expand affordable broadband to underserved communities.
Save The Date: Coalition Building Will Take Center Stage at Next #B4DE Event
With Digital Inclusion Week 2024 only a month away, registration is open for the next Building for Digital Equity livestream event on October 7. The theme will be “Coalition Building for Success” and will bring together hundreds of frontline digital inclusion practitioners from across the nation to delve into how coalitions are finding success in pushing the digital equity movement forward
Harrison County, Texas Strikes Partnership With Etex Telephone Cooperative
Harrison County, Texas officials say they’re poised to use the county’s remaining Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds to strike a fiber expansion partnership with Etex Communications, a subsidiary of the locally-owned Etex Telephone Cooperative. The Harrison County Commissioners Court says it’s putting the finishing touches on a $4.5 million public-public partnership with Etex that will help deliver fiber access to the Western end of the heavily underserved Texas county with the help of $1.5 million in federal ARPA funds.
NDIA’s Angela Siefer Among IP3 Awards Winners
Public Knowledge announces 21st Annual IP3 Award Winners. Among the four recipients is Angela Siefer, Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), recognizing her as a national leader of the digital equity movement.
Alpine County Open Access Fiber Among Big Winners In Latest California FFA Grants
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has announced another $237 million in new grants that will help fund broadband expansion across 21 different California towns, cities, counties, and tribal communities. Alpine, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Santa Barbara, and Tulare counties are among the latest winners in California’s $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program (FFA), an extension of California’s ambitious Broadband For All initiative, a $6 billion effort aimed at dramatically boosting broadband competition and access across the Golden State.
ILSR Joins Digital Inclusion Advocates in Atlanta to Elevate Local Voices
Jordan Pittman, Digital Equity Coordinator with ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks initiative, will join digital inclusion advocates in Atlanta this week for "Elevating Local Voices To Drive Impact on Digital Equity" event.
Paul Bunyan Communications Payout To Members Is Not A Tall Tale
The northern Minnesota telephone cooperative, which serves 30,000 members across its 6,000-square-mile service area, has announced it is returning over $3 million to its members this year. This most recent payout isn’t Paul Bunyan Communications first, or largest. In 2022, members were returned $6.3 million and in 2018 it was $2.2 million.
Shot Clock Winding Down on ARPA Funds For Broadband Projects
Communities looking to leverage American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for broadband or other local infrastructure need to act soon or risk losing access to a once-in-a-generation funding resource. Most ARPA recipients seem well aware of the deadline, but data suggests more than a few communities could drop the ball.
Maine Awards $9.6 Million For Fiber In Lincoln, Waldo Counties
The Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) has unveiled $9.6 million in new grant awards to help bring affordable fiber to over 15,000 homes and businesses across 12 widely underserved communities in the Pine Tree state. The grants will primarily be focused on leveraging public-private partnerships to drive fiber into unserved locations in Waldo and Lincoln Counties.
NDIA Launches New Program to Recognize Indigenous Digital Inclusion Initiatives
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) has announced a new initiative, Seven Star Communities, to highlight the excellent work being done by Native communities to “strengthen self-determination and close the digital divide through sustainable digital inclusion work.” Increasingly, Native nations are advancing digital inclusion priorities and programs that foreground self-determination and sovereignty.
Oakland Secures $15 Million Grant To Bring Broadband Into Underserved Neighborhoods
Oakland, California will use ARPA grant funds to construct a city-owned, open-access, hybrid middle mile/last mile fiber network that will support the city housing authority's “Free Internet Initiative.” The Oakland project not only paves the way for the city to connect 14 community anchor institutions (CAIs) and nine public safety buildings, it will also expand high-speed Internet access to thousands of unserved and underserved addresses in West and East Oakland.
Tribes, Cooperatives, and Counties Nab $1.4 Million In New Mexico Grants
The New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) has awarded $1.4 million in grants to 15 counties, tribal communities, cooperatives, and municipalities for planning, engineering and grant writing to expand broadband access. The funding not only allows these communities to begin analyzing their local connectivity needs in more detail, it potentially opens the door to helping them apply for more than $675 million in BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Development) grants.