Frontier Communications and Windstream have collectively raked in more than $210 million worth of broadband grants across nine states thus far in 2022, as the operators look to boost their fiber expansion plans with government support. Frontier has won grants in seven states: California, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Thursday, September 8, 2022
The pandemic created a sense of urgency about bringing internet access to more people and empowering them to use technology as a necessity of modern life.
According to publicly available information on state and local ballot initiatives up for a vote in 2022 elections, broadband is on the ballot statewide for voters in Alabama and New Mexico, as well as for some voters in Colorado. Voters in Alabama will weigh in on the "Broadband Internet Infrastructure Funding Amendment," which, if approved, will amend the state's constitution "to allow local governments to use funding provided for broadband internet infrastructure under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and award such funds to public or private entities." Voters in New Mexico have a simi
The lack of broadband in many rural and Tribal communities is widely recognized, but there are also claims of a lack of broadband availability in predominantly Minority and urban communities, sometimes labeled digital redlining or digital discrimination. Motivated by such claims, the bi-partisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) includes a specific provision to address digital discrimination and the Federal Communications Commission is currently contemplating formal rules for such.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is committing over $81 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Program (ECP), which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.
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