As Americans file their taxes this Tax Day, digital equity leaders across the nation will gather for a timely exploration of how public dollars are being used to strengthen communities – and how local advocates can negotiate better deals as AI data centers rapidly expand, lured with tax breaks.

Co-hosted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), the next Building for Digital Equity (B4DE) livestream promises to offer insights from frontline forces working to ensure broadband and technology investments serve public needs rather than distant corporate interests.

With the series sponsored by UTOPIA Fiber, the upcoming B4DE livestream – “Local Dollars, Local Solutions: Digital Equity Tax Money & How to Negotiate Better AI Data Center Deals” – is slated for April 15 at 3 p.m. ET and will bring together national policy experts, local leaders, and community advocates working in the trenches of digital inclusion.

Registration is now open here.

“Tax day should serve as a reminder that public money should work for the public,” organizers said. 

“Communities are asking how to use their tax dollars to expand access to the Internet, digital skills, and devices – and how to effectively negotiate, or in some cases, stop data center developers from harming or extracting wealth from cities and towns without public benefit.”

The agenda for the free event will include a brief framing conversation before kicking things off with a creative segment highlighting the power of artistic collaboration and community storytelling, underscoring how digital access supports cultural expression and civic life.

Closing the digital divide where it's most dense – inside multi-family housing – took center screen during yesterday's webinar hosted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB).

Co-host and AAPB Executive Director Gigi Sohn framed the discussion as a new way of thinking about universal broadband access. 

"If you want to connect a community, we can’t just think street by street. We have to also think floor by floor, building by building," Sohn said. 

"Apartment complexes, public housing, condos, and mobile home parks contain some of the largest concentrations of unserved and underserved households in the country. These buildings should be cost-efficient to serve, but in reality they often present some of the toughest barriers – from wiring challenges and access restrictions to exclusive provider agreements and outdated policies."

The webinar, "High-Density, High Impact: Connecting Apartment Buildings, Public Housing and Multi-Dwelling Units," featured Cleveland-based DigitalC CEO Joshua Edmonds; REVinternet founder and CEO Brendan Kelly; and Anna Read, a Principal with the national consulting firm HR&A.

The conversation ranged from why MDU's matter to the business and technical realities of providing Internet access to those who live in them; as well how federal and state policies have helped or hindered the push to ensure everyone has the ability to meaningfully participate in a digital world.

Watch the webinar in its entirety below:

Today at 12pm ET/11am CT, ILSR and the American Association of Public Broadband co-host an event aimed at tackling the digital divide in a realm rife with both challenges and opportunities: apartments, public housing, and multi-dwelling units. 

Co-hosted by AAPB’s Gigi Sohn and ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks’ Associate Director for Communications Sean Gonsalves, they will be joined by Cleveland-based DigitalC CEO Joshua Edmonds; REVinternet founder and CEO Brendan Kelly; and Anna Read, a Principal with the national consulting firm HR&A who previously worked on broadband funding at the U.S. Treasury Department and also with several states in establishing programs to help connect public housing residents.

This event is free to register.

On paper, it’s cheaper to connect densely-clustered residences. But, as many as 4.3 million households inside apartment, condo, and mobile-home complexes do not have Internet access – either because the service is unaffordable or because the building has antiquated wiring.

Given the importance of Internet access for meaningful participation in a digital economy – and because universal access to high-speed Internet has cascading community benefits that not only save subscribers and municipalities money, but also improve health outcomes – more cities and towns are looking to ensure high-performance Internet access is available in what industry insiders call “multi-dwelling units” (MDUs).

Next week, the increasingly popular webinar series hosted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks initiative and the American Association of Public Broadband (AAPB) will dive into the challenge head-on with a focus on how local communities can better serve the places where the largest numbers of disconnected Americans are clustered.

The free webinar – “High-Density, High Impact: Connecting Apartment Buildings, Public Housing and Multi-Dwelling Units” – is slated for March 19 from noon to 1 pm ET.

Registration is now open here.

“Most of the federal government’s funding focus for building new networks is targeted at sparsely populated rural areas. But the fact is: apartment buildings – especially those living in public housing in urban and suburban settings – represent large concentrations of unconnected or underconnected households,” AAPB Executive Director Gigi Sohn said. 

On Tuesday, July 1, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and National Digital Inclusion Alliance will present the next Building For Digital Equity event - Wired For Freedom: Digital Access and the American Dream. It will run from 3:00 - 4:15 ET.

Register for the free event here.

Once again, we thank UTOPIA Fiber for their sponsorship in making these events happen.

We will kick off the event with co-hosts Christopher Mitchell from ILSR and NDIA's Gina Cooper. Skye Downing will set our tone with a song, to be followed by Amy Huffman updating everyone on the latest news relating to the Trump Administration's efforts to cancel the Digital Equity Act.

This B4DE will again feature the Lightning Round speakers that will offer short presentations - Ka'ala Souza from Digital Ready Hawaii and Sarah Nichols from Land of Sky.

Monica Gonzalez from Methodist Healthcare Ministries will be sharing information about their work in South Texas.

The big finish will be moderated by ILSR's Sean Gonsalves - featuring Tony Batalla, CIO for the city of Oakland; Alisa Valentin from Public Knowledge; Autumn Evans of the Rocket Community Fund; and Patrick Messac from Oakland Undivided.

As always, we would love to see you commenting and asking questions in the chat to help us keep it real!  

The livestream will be available (and later archived) on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn with live viewer questions answered by the invited speakers and presenters, which is still being finalized.

We will also be live posting from the Community Broadband Networks Bluesky page.

Never seen a Building for Digital Equity event before? Check out our last one below, where we were joined by Revati Prasad (Benton Institute for Broadband and Society), Virginia Benzan (Massachusetts Law Reform Institute), and Alisa Valentin (Public Knowledge) and talked about adapting to a shifting policy landscape in the midst of much confusion and change.

The American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB) and ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative are teaming up to host a webinar later this month for local and community leaders interested – or on the fence – in pursuing municipal broadband solutions to local connectivity challenges.

“Municipal Broadband and Innovative Financing Models: Unlocking Economic Growth” will focus on ways publicly-owned broadband networks can be financed and feature municipal broadband providers and financing experts who have successfully navigated the maze of municipal finance.

The free webinar is slated for February 20, 2025, from noon to 1 pm ET.

Image

Registration is open now here.

Co-hosted by AAPB Executive Director Gigi Sohn and Sean Gonsalves from ILSR's Community Broadband Networks Initiative, organizers are encouraging attendees to bring their questions, as the agenda aims to foster information-sharing and actionable insight.

Panelists for the discussion will be:

• Ernie Staten, City of Fairlawn’s Public Service Department Director
• F.X. Flinn, ECFiber Governing Board Chair
• Laura Lewis, Principal and Co-Owner of LRB Public Finance Advisors
• Eric Rex, Vice President at KeyBanc Capital Markets

“There are more than 400 publicly-owned broadband networks operating right now across the nation,” said AAPB Executive Director Gigi Sohn. “That number has been growing rapidly. But, there's more work to do to address the fear and hesitation that’s stopping some communities from pursuing the public model.”

Tune in June 11 for the third and final installment of a new webinar series aimed at local government leaders thinking about building publicly owned networks. Hosted by the American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB) and the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society - both veteran organizations in this space - the event aims to unpack key considerations in the building and operation of community-owned networks.

The first two webinars in the series took place in April and May, and featured conversations with industry experts on the factors that go into deciding whether to embark on a path to building publicly owned broadband and understanding the models available and when pursuing a partnership is the right path.

The webinar series as a whole follows the publication of a guide by AAPB and Benton published this spring called Own Your Internet: How to Build a Public Broadband Network [pdf]. It is packed with analysis, practical advice, and lessons learned on everything from feasibility studies to business models to financing to marketing, as well as case studies in Ohio, Texas, Utah, and more.

This third event - titled Implementation - Building and Operating the Network - rounds out the series with infrastructure builders and the General Manager of Waterloo, Iowa’s municipal network, which has been building since September 2022. See the full schedule below:

Webinar Three: Implementation - Building and Operating the Network

June 11th, 12 pm - 1pm ET

The last webinar will focus on the challenges of and strategies for building the physical infrastructure and launching services. Panelists will discuss how they manage complex operations while also adapting to changing conditions, all in view of a community invested in their broadband.

Bill will be joined by:

• Suzanne Heritage, Underline
• Sachin Gupta, Cetranet Fiber
• Eric Lage, Waterloo Fiber
• Jon Willow, Community Broadband Action Network

Register for the event, which runs from 12p to 1p ET on June 11th.

The Tribal Business of Broadband webinar series, a virtual extension of the Tribal Broadband Bootcamps, continues later this month with a focus on wireless Tribal networks.

It will be held on December 19 at 2 pm ET.

As historic investments are being made to bring better broadband to Indian Country, the webinars are designed to be a practical resource for Tribal leaders seeking to expand high-speed Internet access within Indigenous communities.

Coming on the heels of the first webinar in the series, which focused on high-level business considerations in establishing Tribal networks, this second webinar will cover what it takes to deploy wireless networks, the spectrum licensing involved, and other related issues.

Image

Like the previous webinar, the lineup of speakers bring in-depth knowledge and experience in the building and operation of Tribal networks. Speakers for the Dec. 19 webinar include: Brandon Ramon, Network Operations Center Supervisor for the Tohono O'odham Utility Authority; Matthew “Speygee” Douglas, Broadband Manager for the Hoopa Valley Tribe's Public Utilities District; and Monica Braine, Project Specialist for AMERIND Critical Infrastructure. The conversation will be moderated by Brooke Munroe, Director of the Tribal Resource Center.

Pre-registration is not required. Interested participants can watch the webinar live here.

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.

Image

With billions of federal dollars on the horizon to support broadband infrastructure and digital inclusion, it is essential that states, local officials, service providers, and other organizations work effectively with Tribes so that those living on Tribal lands get connected.

Last week, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) hosted Dr. Traci L. Morris, Executive Director of the American Indian Policy Institute (AIPI) at Arizona State University for a webinar titled “Indigenous Digital Sovereignty: From the Digital Divide to Digital Equity,” which situated Tribal broadband work and Tribal sovereignty in the context of recent federal funding opportunities like BEAD.

“Sovereignty and self-determination are critical aspects of broadband and telecommunications investments in Tribal communities. Putting in a network is an act of self-determination – it is nation-building. It is exercising sovereignty in the active sense. As the United States makes historic investments [in broadband], we must hold it to upholding its trust responsibility to our Nations.” - Dr. Traci L. Morris

A member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, Morris has led AIPI for 10 years, and has 14 years of experience in digital equity and inclusion, network neutrality, and Tribal broadband. Morris co-authored Tribal Technology Assessment: The State of Internet Service on Tribal Lands (2019), which helped to fill a gap in quality data on connectivity needs in Indian Country.

Morris’s webinar dug into her own participatory research data investigating the digital divide in Indian Country, which was prompted by a dearth of quality data representing connectivity needs for Native Americans living on Tribal lands.