A project funded by a $24 million high-speed Internet grant from the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) broke ground in Reno, Nevada. Internet service provider Zayo Group, which received the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program grant. Zayo is the first Middle Mile Program grantee in the nation to begin construction. With this grant, Zayo will build a 645-mile fiber network through the Panther Valley and Reno communities in Nevada as well as rural parts of Oregon and northern California that currently have inadequate broadband service. Zayo will build 23 access points in this network to enable ready access to local Internet Service Providers, which will vastly improve the speed and quality of Internet service to homes in the area.

Despite problems with the wider U.S. economy, demand for broadband and consumer take rates for increasing speeds has not slowed. Industry organizations urged policies that will encourage continued investment in broadband networks to improve the competitive environment. The comments came in response to a request from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in preparation for a report it must file to Congress on the state of competition in the overall “communications marketplace,” including voice services, broadcast and broadband video/audio services, and data transmission. “At a time when inflation has become the norm, broadband is an outlier—prices continue to decline as speeds increase. More Americans are gaining access to broadband every day,” said USTelecom in its response to the FCC’s request for comments. “This growth can be further facilitated through policies that sustain the Universal Service Fund with an expanded contributions base, streamline or eliminate legacy obligations as appropriate, and encourage maximum participation by proven providers in broadband funding programs.”

The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Equity (NCDIT) has announced that FOCUS Broadband is a recipient of two Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program awards. The $5.4 million in awarded CAB funding will allow FOCUS Broadband to extend their fiber optic network in both Chowan and Perquimans counties, bringing high-speed internet to an additional 800 rural homes and businesses. Of the total funding, $1.9 million will be used to expand high-speed internet service to over 300 addresses in Chowan County, with $3.4 million of the funds being utilized to bring high-speed internet service to an additional 588 addresses in Perquimans County. FOCUS Broadband will contribute approximately $1 million to the projects, with Chowan and Perquimans counties providing a combined $338,806 in additional funding. 

An unexpected volunteer, a geographic information system (GIS) mapping expert helped a rural community in Texas establish its broadband connection. Bernie South is the GIS volunteer who mapped the data using information from the Census, school district hotpost addresses and areas of growth in the county. South began volunteering with Bastrop County Cares during the pandemic to vaccinate people, he said. Since the pandemic in 2020, Bastrop County Cares, a nonprofit organization, has been working to bring broadband to more individuals and families in rural Texas. Using the data and maps, Bastrop County Cares has been convening different stakeholders to identify areas of need to help develop solutions to address the broadband shortage. Using data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Census data and other data sources, South provided detailed maps of where the highest need for broadband was located. Thanks to the assistance of South and others, Bastrop County Cares has been able to identify an antenna where S.O.S Communications will be able to provide broadband access to the 700-person community of McDade at a reasonable cost.

More than four years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, what do we know about how meetings have (or haven’t) gotten back to “normal,” particularly amid calls back to the office? An analysis of 40 million virtual meetings from 11 organizations suggests that some habits, like using virtual meeting options even when in the office, are sticking. Further, data shows that meeting participation and camera usage correlates with retention. The authors recommend several ways for organizations to manage this new reality to better meetings, including identifying key meeting leaders and empowering them and using data to provide visibility into your organizational culture while also respecting privacy concerns.