Gemma DiCarlo

Between the American Rescue Plan Act and the possible Build Back Better legislation, there’s a lot of federal funding headed to states and cities for investments in broadband. Representatives from across the state and the country were in South Bend (IN) on March 3 to talk about how to best use that funding.

The city of South Bend (IN) has plans to expand free WiFi and become more fiber-friendly in 2022. The city currently has over 30 access points for free WiFi, many of which are in public parks or city buildings. Chief Innovation Officer Denise Riedl said the city has state and federal grant money to add even more access points in 2022. She said the city will start taking public input on where those access points should be in early 2022. Riedl said the city is also looking to expand its fiber optic cable capacity in the future.