1. Monthly archive
  2. July 2022

July 2022

Sponsor: 

Schools Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition

Date: 
Wed, 07/20/2022 - 14:00

Blink – or Bluffs Community Wi-Fi – is a wireless network established by the Council Bluffs Community School District (CBCSD) and City of Council Bluffs in Iowa that is currently providing free home internet service to nearly 85 percent of the district’s 8,500 students. Launched in 2014, the network was initiated to support the school’s 1:1 learning initiative, but later played a vital role in enabling all CBCSD students to shift seamlessly to at-home learning when the pandemic hit.


Arizona Commerce Authority Announces $100 Million In Broadband Grants

The Arizona Commerce Authority announced 20 awardees of the Arizona Broadband Development Grant Program (ABDG). Gov Ducey (R-AZ) launched the program in November 2021, investing $100 million to expand high-speed broadband to Arizona’s unserved or underserved areas. The grant allocated a total of $75.7 million to 14 awardees in rural counties and $23.6 million to six awardees in urban counties, spurring $112.8 million in local matching funds. Grants were awarded through a competitive process based on criteria such as return on investment and local support.

FCC Announces Over $266 Million in Emergency Connectivity Funding

The Federal Communications Commission announced it is committing over $266 million in two new funding rounds through the Emergency Connectivity Program, helping to close the Homework Gap. The funding supports applications from all three of the program’s application windows, supporting over 1 million students across the country, including in Delaware, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, and Oregon. Over $12 million from the first and second application windows will provide support in the upcoming school year for approximately 15 schools, 2 libraries, and 1 consortium.

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