
Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
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
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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."
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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
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.
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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.