As state and local broadband leaders engage “covered populations,” as defined under the Digital Equity Act, AARP and ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative has been working in partnership over the past two years to deliver “Broadband for Beginners” workshops in states across the country that target individuals 60 years of age or older – and those who work with them.

Next month, on Dec 7 from 8:30 AM to 5 pm ET, AARP Maine and the ILSR team will wrap up the year with an in-person workshop in Bangor, Maine. The all-day event is designed to demystify broadband technology and help empower older adults to join the effort to expand digital equity, most especially those who have been reluctant or fearful to explore the opportunities broadband access offers.

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There is still time to register here.

The agenda will serve up a veritable buffet of broadband topics and leave participants stuffed with confidence in how to advocate for their needs in an increasingly digital society.

“We are thrilled to be working with AARP in Maine,” said ILSR Community Broadband Networks Director Christopher Mitchell. “The state of Maine is making great strides on Internet access and we look forward to supporting that work with many of the people responsible for it.”

Inline image of older adult typing on laptop courtesy of StockVault, CC0 1.0 Universal
 

With the holiday season upon us, the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) are gearing up for the final Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) event of the year and encouraging digital equity practitioners to save the date.

The popular (and free) virtual gathering will be held December 12, 2023 from 3 to 4:15 pm ET and will feature a holiday-inspired theme: Digital Equity Unwrapped: End of Year Reflections/The New Year Ahead.

You can register for the event now here.

Coming on the heels of our last B4DE event in October, which is still reverberating through digital inclusion circles across the nation, we are excited to follow up with a jolly and informative agenda that will cover:

• The latest on the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).
• Lightning Rounds on digital inclusion work with covered populations.
• Setting the table on forthcoming Digital Equity Act funding and how communities are preparing.
• Unpacking digital discrimination and its practical implications.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Patrick Messac, Director of #OaklandUndivided, an equity-based, collective impact initiative launched in Oakland, California.

As Tribal Broadband Bootcamps (TBB) prepares later this month to host its ninth bootcamp since the initiative began in 2021, TBB is now offering a series of webinars that will explore different ways of organizing a Tribal Broadband Network.

The Business of Broadband webinars will hone in on how Indigenous networks approach the business of broadband, how they can be structured, how they price their services, and how they can strategically plan for their sustainability.

The introductory session will be held on October 30 at 2 pm ET and will be moderated by Revati Prasad, Vice President of Programs with the Benton Institute. The session will draw from the diverse experiences of seasoned Tribal Broadband experts, representing both regulated and non-regulated Tribal networks. One of the focuses of the first webinar will be to outline the high-level business considerations that arise when establishing Tribal networks.

Watch the webinar here, or below.

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With Tribal broadband advocates working to establish better Internet connectivity across Indian Country as the NTIA directs unprecedented federal investments to expand broadband infrastructure, the Center for Indian Country Development (CICD) will lead a timely virtual webinar on tribal broadband next week.

“Nuts, Bolts, and Cables: Opportunities in Tribal Broadband” is being hosted by the CICD, headquartered at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University.

Slated for October 16th from 2:00-3:30 CT, the webinar will bring together researchers, advocates, network operators, and federal policymakers for a conversation about the challenges and opportunities for Native Nations working to improve Internet access and broadband infrastructure.

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The third webinar in a series on "Cultivating Native Economies in the 21st Century," next week’s session will give participants the chance to hear from panelists and presenters with a wealth of expertise in Tribal broadband. Dr. Traci Morris (Chickasaw) and Geoff Blackwell (Muscogee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Omaha), leading experts in tribal broadband policy, will speak on a panel about current opportunities in the field.

If you missed today’s Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) livestream event – "Building Connected Communities: Sustaining the Momentum" – no sweat.

You can still see the entire program below. The latest installment of #B4DE was packed with practical information and inspiration on everything from the latest on the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), outreach to veterans, telehealth and broadband adoption – mixed with on-the-ground intel from local communities pushing the digital equity movement forward.

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Co-hosted by ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), the event was capped off by keynote speaker and emerging digital equity leader Joshua Edmonds, CEO of Digital C in Cleveland, who painted a powerful and expansive vision of digital equity work based on insights that have emerged from working in the trenches.

The entire #B4DE live stream, sponsored once again by UTOPIA Fiber, can be seen below. And, for other Digital Inclusion Week (DIW) engagements check out NDIA’s page here.

Lots happening for Digital Inclusion Week 2023, which kicks off this Monday. One free online event that will be of particular interest for digital equity advocates across the nation is the next National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) Livestream.

The popular virtual gathering will be held this Tuesday, Oct. 3, from 12 noon to 1:15 pm ET and will focus on the DIW-inspired theme: “Building Connected Communities: Sustaining Momentum.”

Attendees can still register here.

Building on the success of our previous events, we are excited to present another engaging agenda packed with practical insights and information digital inclusion practitioners can use while working in the trenches to bridge America’s yawning digital divide.

The agenda includes:

With Digital Inclusion Week (DIW) less than a month away, ILSR and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) are gearing up for the next Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) event and encouraging digital equity practitioners to save the date.

The popular virtual gathering will be held Oct. 3 from 12 noon to 1:15 pm ET and will focus on the DIW-inspired theme: “Building Connected Communities: Sustaining Momentum.” The event is free and open for registration here.

Building on the success of our previous events, we are excited to present a fun and informative agenda that will cover:

• On-going efforts to save the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and lessons-learned on boosting ACP enrollment
• Outreach to covered populations
• The power of ethical storytelling in digital inclusion work
• How telehealth can be a key driver of broadband adoption
• The nexus between infrastructure and digital equity

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The keynote speaker for the event will be Joshua Edmonds, CEO of Digital C, the Cleveland-based nonprofit technology social enterprise. Edmonds will focus on the link between building appropriately-motivated physical networks and how infrastructure and digital equity work go hand-in-hand.

Each year since its creation in 2017, the Indigenous Connectivity Summit (ICS) has convened those working on the frontlines of Tribal connectivity. It brings together decision makers and stakeholders to build support for digital sovereignty and quality, affordable connectivity for Indigenous communities. 

With less than 60 percent of those living on Tribal lands in the lower 48 states having access to basic broadband connections – as Native Nations have regularly been excluded from policy conversations around these issues – ICS has become an important voice as the federal government is finally investing billions of dollars to expand high-speed Internet access across Indian Country.

The Summit, held this year in Anchorage, Alaska, was hosted by the Indigenous Connectivity Institute, an affiliate of Connect Humanity, an organization that supports underserved communities’ pursuit of better Internet access and enhancing digital skills. The Summit has become the most prominent event of its type in North America.

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Summit participants don’t just convene and talk. They also agree on a series of calls-to-action for governments and other entities with an eye on promoting digital equity in Indigenous communities. Last year’s calls to action, which included messaging around inclusive Tribal consultation, government and industry accountability, Indigenous spectrum rights, and workforce development, served as the foundation for this year’s focus.

Just as the BEAD program becomes a major driving force in the ongoing broadband-ification of America, hundreds of local network builders, operators, thought-leaders, and policy-makers will descend on Denver, Colorado for Mountain Connect 2023 early next month.

Themed this year as “Collaborate, Integrate, Innovate,” the agenda is packed with plenty of BEAD-centered panels but also offers a buffet of other focused forums that will cover emerging technologies, local network case studies, and larger community development concerns.

Spots for the conference, which will be held August 7-9 at the Denver Sheraton, are filling up fast. But, would-be attendees can still register here.  

As with the previous eight annual Mountain Connect conferences, this year’s three-day conference in the Mile High City will bring together a veritable who’s-who of people working in the trenches of a national effort to bring high-speed Internet access to the tens of millions unserved and underserved households and businesses across the U.S.

Among the conference participants will be representatives from 15 state broadband offices, which accounts for more than $15 of the $42.5 billion in BEAD funds that will be allocated by states in the form of competitive state grants.

ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks (CBN) Initiative continues to host Let’s Get Going Broadband Bootcamps across the country.

The next two upcoming bootcamps are being sponsored by the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion and will be held at Doña Ana Community College in Anthony, New Mexico on June 28 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Another will be held the following day, June 29, at the Tribal Administration Building on the Pueblo of Tesuque in New Mexico.

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The bootcamp agenda includes:

• What is broadband and how is it deployed?
• The basics of wireless and fiber optics
• What funding is available to improve broadband in local communities?
• Coalition-building to improve local broadband networks

The in-person, hands-on bootcamps are aimed at helping participants understand broadband and digital equity basics, identify local needs, evaluate options, and chart a path forward. From leveraging existing assets, to financing, to partnerships, to evaluating models for success, this program is designed to demystify every step of the process.

If you are in New Mexico or nearby, there is still time to register here.

Attendance is free, but submission and acceptance of an application is required prior to the event. Space is limited and priority will be given to local community members and small local teams eager to learn together and mobilize locally to improve connectivity.