Broadband internet access has been slow to reach rural communities, but the Town of Nichols in Tioga County (NY) is addressing this through an open-access fiber network. Called "Nichols Fiber," the network could close the gap and bring the town reliable internet service.
Cable companies Charter Communications and Comcast have each raked in at least $100 million in state broadband grants in 2022, leading the pack of operators scrambling to secure government funding for expansion efforts.
One of the hurdles faced by communities pursuing broadband grants is that many grant programs allow incumbent broadband providers to challenge the validity of a grant. The most common challenge is for an incumbent provider to claim that a grant incorrectly includes homes and businesses that already have access to fast broadband. It appears that the purpose of many challenges is to delay the process, with the ultimate hope to derail or cancel grant requests.
In Beaver and Fayette Counties, Pennsylvania, the "Connect Beaver County Broadband Program" by the Butler, Pennsylvania-based Armstrong company, and Arkansas-based Windstream, was chosen to provide internet services to several locations throughout the two counties. The projects are a part of the counties' larger efforts to bring new broadband and improved services to parts of 24 municipalities within the county by utilizing nearly $20 million in American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funding. The counties aim to expand broadband service where service is poor or unavailable.
In most businesses, competition means several rivals are fighting to win a prize — typically, the customer's dollar. Most tech companies still view themselves as engaged in fierce competition. They're just going after a wider and more complex set of prizes.
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