Indiana is diligently working to expand broadband access across the entire state, recognizing its vital role in economic development, education, healthcare, and overall quality of life. The following plan outlines the vision, goals, and objectives supported by an impressive $868,109,929.79 investment in broadband, the largest in Indiana's history. Indiana actively seeks and leverages federal funding opportunities to support broadband expansion, including the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Indiana's areas of focus include the following:

• Enabling robust broadband access for Hoosiers is an imperative priority, with a particular focus on addressing the challenges faced in rural areas, where the close ties to agriculture create unique obstacles.

• Community participation is crucial and will influence all aspects of broadband deployments. Feedback and preparation will be incorporated at every phase of the BEAD deployment.

• Workforce considerations play a pivotal role throughout every stage of broadband deployment, encompassing initial infrastructure development, collaboration with third-party entities that control essential assets, and the ongoing maintenance and operation of the network.

• Digital equity and literacy must be addressed comprehensively across Indiana, spanning from promoting equal access to technology and connectivity to empowering individuals with the necessary digital skills for full participation in the digital age.

The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension (UNHCE) was awarded $511,216 by the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) to lead the development of a five-year plan to connect residents state-wide with access to high-speed internet, digital devices, training, and a host of services and resources made possible through digital technology (e.g., telehealth, on-line educational resources, mobile banking, assistive technologies, on-line employment resources, etc.). The effort, in partnership with the National Collaborative for Digital Equity (NCDE) and the Digital Equity Research Center (DERC) at the Metropolitan New York Library Council, kicks off September 1, 2023, with the launch of a state-wide survey. In addition to the survey, the plan’s development will involve multiple ways to gather input from individuals, communities, organizations, institutions, employers, and state-wide leaders in 2024. Grant funding for the plan’s development was provided by BEA as part of its funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 

Fairfax (OK) will be the first town to be connected to the internet by Cox Communications on a fiber network leased from a local power provider. Indian Electric Cooperative (IEC) CEO Todd Schroeder said service should be available by the end of 2023. In addition to multi-gigabit, symmetrical broadband, Cox will offer its Contour TV product, as well as mobile phone service through Cox Mobile. IEC members will pay the same prices customers pay for the equivalent Cox services in Tulsa and other parts of Oklahoma. Schroeder said each time Cox signs up a new customer in IEC territory, IEC will get a share of the revenue. In addition, Cox is paying IEC to maintain the IEC fiber. IEC is the first co-op from which Cox has leased a fiber network, but the broadband provider hopes it will not be the last. 

Kwikom--a broadband provider based in Kansas that also serves some markets in Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma--has begun work on fiber deployments in several Kansas markets. Deployments in some of these markets were funded, in part, through a state broadband program and, in part, by funding provided by local governments. The total investment will be $12 million. Over 7,000 homes and businesses will be reached. The markets that will be partially grant-funded include Pomona, Quenemo (KS), and over 20 square miles of rural area between Ottawa and Quenemo. A Kwikom said that $787,000 in funding for those projects came from the Kansas Capital Projects Fund (CPF). In addition, Franklin county and the cities of Pomona and Quenemo contributed a total of $16,000 to project costs.

A wireless tower at Iowa State University’s Agriculture Engineering/Agronomy Farm west of Ames (IA) is loaded with hardware sending radio waves across the countryside, creating wireless internet connections for rural users. There are more poles, antennas, and cabinets full of electronics on the roof of the Economic Development Core Facility at the Iowa State University Research Park. There are also electronics and lower-to-the-ground antennas next to research fields and in a sheep barn. There’s equipment going through the roof of a dairy barn. There are even hardware cabinets on the roof of a CyRide bus. Deploying all this infrastructure in and around Ames means the $16 million ARA Wireless Living Lab for Smart and Connected Rural Communities is moving to a public testing phase. (ARA stands for Agriculture and Rural Communities and has a logo featuring the Ara constellation of stars.) A major goal for the ARA project is to address the broadband gap between rural and urban regions and to advance the frontiers of 5G and 6G technologies, said Hongwei Zhang, an Iowa State professor of electrical and computer engineering and the project leader. ARA is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a consortium of 30 wireless companies and associations. While a project goal is to eventually improve wireless service to rural residents and communities, project researchers are now building a wireless platform using the latest technology and testing its performance in a variety of applications, including precision agriculture and rural education.