Universal Broadband

Mediacom has completed a fiber-optic network expansion in rural Truesdale (IA), delivering phone plans and download speeds of up to 2 Gbps with a focus on low-cost accessibility. Truesdale is the tenth community that Mediacom, the fifth largest cable operator in the US, has constructed through collaboration with the Empower Iowa Rural Broadband Grant Program. The operator has expanded its fiber network to over 1,400 locations in rural Iowa through that public-private partnership.

The results from a recent survey of 1,205 Los Angeles County likely voters demonstrate public demand for public solutions that ensure affordable, reliable, and fast internet service is available for everyone. The survey found that internet access is considered a necessity for functioning and participating in society, and there is strong support for government involvement in ensuring these needs are met.

Governor Laura Kelly (D-KS) alongside the Kansas Infrastructure Hub (KIH), launched the Build Kansas Fund, which provides state matching dollars to Kansas communities for infrastructure projects approved under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The Build Kansas Fund will invest $200 million directly into Kansas communities to support projects that include broadband, water, transportation, energy, and cybersecurity through Fiscal Year 2027. Eligible entities include Kansas state agencies, counties, municipalities, special districts, community organizations, nonprofits, and fe

The digital divide is multi-faceted and currently there is no single set of instructions for how it can be closed. Broadly speaking, there are at least two main reasons why a location may not have high-speed internet: 1) Infrastructure deficiencies, meaning either the complete absence of infrastructure, or the present infrastructure is insufficient for delivering broadband speeds and 2) the proper infrastructure is present, but there is a lack of adoption from the people who could theoretically take advantage of it.

New York City (NYC) Mesh is not an internet service provider, but a grassroots, volunteer-run community network that aims to create an affordable, open and reliable network that's accessible to all New Yorkers for both daily and emergency internet use. To a layperson, the wireless mesh network—which relies on building-to-building line-of-sight connections—resembles the NYC subway: a circuitry of stations and routes where building nodes are the stations connecting to street level, and neighborhood hubs act as the tran

Consolidated Communications will build a fiber network in Lamoille County (VT) that will be funded, in part, through the state. Consolidated will invest almost $10 million in the network and the Lamoille FiberNet communications union district (CUD) will invest $14.9 million.

There have been several lawsuits over the last few years that challenge the legitimacy of the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund (USF). A suit from a non-profit group called Consumers’ Research argues that USF fees are taxes and that the original creation of the USF was unconstitutional since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 gave the FCC the power to levy taxes.

The Kentucky Office of Systems Equity in partnership with the Office of Broadband seeks public input on the draft of Kentucky’s first Digital Equity Plan. Obtaining input from Kentuckians on high-speed internet expansion and digital access throughout the commonwealth is part of the federal funding process.

Puerto Rico has released its Digital Equity Plan and Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Initial Proposal Volume 1 for the input and comments of its citizens. The comment period is currently open until Sunday, October 15. Citizens can visit the website at the following link. 

The US is making unprecedented investments to ensure that individuals and communities have the capacity to fully participate in our society and economy via access to, and the use of, affordable information and communication technologies, such as wired and wireless broadband, internet-enabled devices, and applications and online content designed to enable and encourage self-sufficiency, participation, and collaboration. There’s an obvious and critical role for researchers to help guide this investment now and evaluate its effectiveness in the years to come.