Masha Abarinova

Maryland just scored over $267 million in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding. Kenrick Gordon, Director of Maryland’s Office of Statewide Broadband, is optimistic the amount will help fuel deployments, but he thinks it’ll take a couple of years before the money is available for broadband providers. Gordon said Maryland is currently working on its initial BEAD proposal and once it’s submitted, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has to review and approve it.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) seeks to void a Virginia bill streamlining railroad crossing requests for broadband providers, claiming it shifts permitting power from the railroad owners to broadband providers. The law, which took effect on July 1, caps railroad crossing fees at $2,000 per crossing and requires broadband providers to reimburse railroad companies no more than $5,00

Aside from the incumbent operators, there are plenty of smaller broadband players striving to make a name for themselves. But how can broadband providers use branding to stand out from the rest of the crowd? Three providers have shared their reasons behind their branding decisions:

GoNetspeed, a fiber provider primarily operating in New England, is encouraging Massachusetts to adopt legislation that would simplify the process for deploying new broadband infrastructure.

All states are tackling broadband accessibility in some way, but each is taking its own approach.

Block Island, located just 12 miles south of mainland Rhode Island, has launched a municipal broadband network in partnership with Sertex Broadband Solutions. Dubbed BroadbandBI, the gigabit fiber network will power the town of New Shoreham, which has a population of roughly 1,000 people. New Shoreham initially struck a partnership with Sertex in 2017 to build a municipal broadband network serving community anchor institutions, such as schools, libraries, and hospitals. That network was completed in 2019.

Google Fiber in May 2023 has picked up steam in its network expansion, announcing several new cities across Idaho, Kansas, Utah, and more. Specifically, Google Fiber has expanded to the following locations:

Chattanooga, Tennessee, is considered ahead of the game with multi-gig connectivity, as in 2022 it introduced citywide 25-gig service for consumers and businesses.

As states prepare to receive their allocations from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, Louisiana is putting the finishing touches on its plan to put that money to work. The state’s broadband office released the first volume of its BEAD proposal, outlining Louisiana’s current efforts to deploy broadband, a breakdown of unserved and underserved locations as well as how it plans to tackle the challenge process.

Frontier Communications said it expects its cost per passing to fall in the $1,000 to $1,100 range in 2023.