Iowa

Iowa receives $26.2 million in emergency education relief to expand broadband access, Discover Muscatine

Minnesota

The power of partnerships: Scott County, Minnesota by Masha Zager, Broadband Communities

State efforts to close Internet gap hampering distance learning aren’t being expedited — at least for now by Erin Hinrichs, Minnpost 

New Hampshire

First-of-its-kind push wants NH Electric Cooperative to become a broadband cooperative, too by David Brooks, Concord Monitor

Pennsylvania

High-Speed In The Hinterlands by Carrie Hagen, Mountain Home

South Carolina

Broadband expansion in Richland County part of statewide connectivity push by Adam Benson, The Post and Courier 

Vermont

Rural broadband the right way by Timothy & Leslie Nulty, VT Digger

Virginia

To bridge digital divide, Roanoke County Public Schools will provide nearly 700 hot spots in 2020–21 school year by Claire Mitzel, The Roanoke Times

General

Alabama

Broadband grants come to Tallapoosa County by Cliff Williams, The Outlook

California

Sacramento wants to give free Internet to low-income residents amid pandemic by Monica Coleman, ABC10

Colorado

Colorado will miss its goal to hit 92% broadband coverage in rural areas by June by Tamara Chuang, Colorado Sun 

Illinois

Illinois grants to help expand broadband, digital access, WGNTV

Maryland

Gov. Hogan announces nearly $9.6M in funding for rural Internet connectivity around Maryland, CBS Baltimore

South Carolina

Tri-County Electric Cooperative plans to bring broadband to rural communities by Loren Thomas, WLTX19

"Tri-County has about six customers per mile of line," says Lowder. "That is very rural and that is why we are little behind here. Our job as a co-op is to see where the differences are and try to work with our legislatures, with the federal side and with local leaders to achieve what needs to be done and that's get fiber to the home."

General

Colorado

Little-known Internet network plans Western Colorado expansion to link students, nonprofits to supercomputers by Tamara Chuang, Colorado Sun

Louisiana

Louisiana co-op broadband bill faces hurdles in legislature by Mark Ballard, Government Technology

Legislation in the Louisiana state house that would urge electric cooperatives to help bring high-speed Internet to rural areas cleared its third legislative hurdle Monday.But the rural co-ops opposed the bill arguing that recently amended wording in the measure would preclude the cooperatives from competing for the broadband Internet business.

Maryland

Harford seeks Internet provider to extend broadband to northern part of county by James Whitlow, The Baltimore Sun 

Massachusetts 

Municipal broadband investment needed now for ‘new normal’ by Joel D. McAuliffe, MassLive 

New Hampshire

Jaffrey considers public-private broadband bond options by Ashley Saari, Ledger-Transcript

General

Poor Americans face hurdles in getting promised Internet by David McCabe, New York Times

ILSR: Cooperative fiber deployments exceed 360, 62% of subs can get fiber from their telco cooperative by Joan Engebretson, telecompetitor 

California

Partnerships can close the digital divide by Apoorva Pasricha & Kevin Frazier, GovTech

Colorado

In the City: Connexion provides WiFi to students without Internet by Colman Keane, Coloradoan

Kansas

USDA invests $71 million in high-speed broadband for rural Kansas and Oklahoma, USDA

Kentucky

Internet service providers should give free service in rural Kentucky to shrink digital divide by Peter Hille, Lexington Herald Leader 

New Hampshire

USDA invests $2 Million in high-speed broadband in rural New Hampshire, USDA

South Carolina

Partnership helps bring broadband to rural Georgetown County, South Strand News

Utah

'People used to think it was a luxury': Internet use is surging and so is UTOPIA Fiber by Ryan Miller, KSL.com

Washington

State, partners setting up drive-up Wi-Fi hotspots to expand broadband to rural areas by Amy Edelen, The Daily Chronicle

California 

CPUC moves to help close digital divide for students by Bruce Mirken, Post News Group

High school district grapples to bridge digital divide by Kate Bradshaw, Mountain View Voice

Missouri

Community partnership uses school buses to provide free Internet access in Perry County, Mo. by Amber Ruch, KFVS12

Best case scenario: Early broadband build-out leaves some rural areas prepared for online work and school by Anna Brugmann, Columbia Daily Tribune

Minnesota

Rural America lags on fast Internet. Now small co-ops are building it by Richard Mertens, The Christian Science Monitor 

“Co-ops in my mind are the unsung heroes of broadband rural deployment,” says Christopher Ali, a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia who is writing a book on the subject. “Co-ops are much more responsive to needs of their local communities.”

New Mexico

USDA to spend $23M to expand broadband in NM by Scott Turner, Albuquerque Journal

North Carolina

Wilson community broadband proves valuable during coronavirus outbreak by Mandy Mitchell, WRAL

North Dakota

Why North Dakota has the best Internet in the United States by Karl Bode, Vice

Arizona

Mohave Electric Cooperative moves forward to build fiber optic network in partnership with TWN Communications, Cision PR Newswire

Arkansas

State program created to lift rural broadband by Michael R. Wicklin, Arkansas Online

California

More California students are online, but digital divide runs deep with distance learning by Sydney Johnson and Michael Burke, Edsource 

About 17,000 students in Oakland Unified didn’t have internet at home before the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Oakland Tech Exchange, a group that provides technology to low-income families in the area. That’s equal to more than one-third of all students in the district.

Massachusetts

Expanding wireless broadband hubs in unserved communities, Massachusetts Broadband Institute 

General

Conexon's breakthrough Interactive RDOF Mapping Platform steers electric cooperatives to broadband funding success, Conexon

Why rural Americans are having a hard time working from home by Harmeet Kaur, CNN

We are the country that created the internet. We think of ourselves as the most affluent nation on Earth," said Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. "We should be embarrassed that millions of people have to drive to a closed library or a fast food restaurant in order to do their jobs or do their homework.

Colorado

Glenwood working toward installing a new broadband system over the next two years by Matthew Bennett, Post Independent 

Kentucky 

Locally owned rural telcos establish hotspots to meet demand during pandemic by Toni Riley, Daily Yonder

Massachusetts 

Expanding wireless broadband hubs in unserved communities, Massachusetts Broadband Institute 

New York 

City reaches deal with Greenlight, hopes to leverage terms to bridge digital divide by Brian Sharp, Democrat and Chronicle 

Pennsylvania

Closing the digital divide in rural Pennsylvania by Therese Perlowski, Internet2

Washington

Rural Washington residents working from home adapt to dearth of high-speed Internet connectivity by Amy Edelen, Spokesman

Broadband is primarily a private investment and it’s difficult to make a business case to Internet service providers to deploy in remote areas, because it’s expensive to build towers and lay fiber. If communities can show there are enough people living in the area through mapping, it opens up opportunity for grants that could support broadband infrastructure, Hansen said.

General

California 

Digital divide leaves rural and poor Sonoma County students with no Internet connection by Yousef Baig, The Press Democrat

Colorado

Internet service in western Colorado was so terrible that towns and counties built their own telecom by Tamara Chuang, Colorado Sun

How do you study online without a computer or Internet access? It’s a reality for many Colorado kids by Erica Brenlin, Colorado Sun 

Connecticut

Connecticut opens investigation into Frontier's business practices by Peter Cameron, Sun Prairie Star

Indiana

Schools, donors rush to fill 'digital divide' and keep students learning during closures by Arika Herron, IndyStar

Unpaid bills put free Internet offers out of reach for some Indianapolis families by Stephanie Wang and Dylan Peers McCoy, Chalkbeat

Kansas

To the bookmobile! Library delivers Wi-Fi to those in need by Brianna Childers, Government Technology 

Vermont

7 Vermont towns comprise new community broadband group, WCAX3

General 

US's digital divide 'is going to kill people' as Covid-19 exposes inequalities by Amanda Holpuch, The Guardian

Colorado 

Municipal election results roll in, 3 new municipalities pass broadband service by Brennan Linsley, Colorado Politics 

Georgia

Blue Ridge Mountain EMC Transforms Broadband Have-Nots Into Broadband Haves by Sean Buckley, Broadband Communities

Kansas 

Monroe County EPA teams up with Conexon to launch fiber-to-the-home network, Monroe Journal

Monroe County EPA will begin construction on the network by the fourth quarter of 2020, with the first customers expected to be connected by early 2021. The four-year build-out will span 1,500 miles of fiber, serve 100 percent of the power’s association’s 10,800 members and is anticipated to cost in the range of $29 million.

Maine

Coronavirus sparks new interest in bridging digital divides by Zack Quaintance, GovTech

Minnesota

New urgency for rural broadband by Aaron J. Brown, Hibbing Daily Tribune

Missouri

Wisper, Rural Electric Cooperative Sho-Me make deal on Missouri broadband builds by Joan Engebretson, telecompetitor

New York

Arizona

Apache County towns plan Internet collaboration by Amber Shepard, White Mountain Independent

Texas

A digital divide with dire consequences for Texas by Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune

Some of the solutions are creative. WesTex Connect, an internet service provider in Abilene, has set up free Wi-Fi hotspots in parking lots next to football stadiums, at the Abilene Convention Center, in Clyde, in Merkle, at the Farmer’s Co-Op Gin in Stamford and next to a lumberyard in Stamford. More are on the way, the company says, for anyone with schoolwork to do, bills to pay, whatever requires internet access.

Wisconsin

During health crisis, rural Wisconsin struggles with poor Internet service by Peter Cameron, Lake Geneva Regional News

General 

US society needs a broadband big dig to get out of its hole by Rana Foroohar, Financial Times

Those without fast internet struggle in a stuck-at-home nation by Tali Arbel and Michael Casey

In rural western Alabama, less than 1% of Perry County's roughly 9,100 residents have high-quality internet at home, so online lessons are out. County teachers spent three days manually loading scanned images of math worksheets and other materials on to iPads and Chromebooks for the system’s 1,100 students to take home while out of class, said Superintendent John Heard.