Connect Humanity

Connect Humanity, a non-profit impact investor, is collaborating with Microsoft to support high-speed internet access and adoption in underserved Appalachian communities. Connect Humanity’s IDEA Fund (Investing in Digital Equity Appalachia) plans to invest in community-focused internet service providers which are best placed to meet the digital needs of residents and businesses in Appalachia’s unserved areas. Connect Humanity aims to convene a diverse group of capital partners including Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), banks, impact investors, and foundations to meet th

Connect Humanity, a non-profit impact investor, announced it is collaborating with Microsoft to support high-speed internet access and adoption in underserved Appalachian communities. Appalachia is one of the least digitally connected regions of the United States, with households 31 percent more likely than the national population to lack a broadband subscription. In some Appalachian counties, fewer than 20 percent of households use the internet at broadband speeds in a time when connectivity is critically important for education, health, and remote work.

A coalition of nearly 70 broadband experts, internet service providers (ISPs), community leaders, and nonprofits wrote to the Federal Communications Commission with a request to grant a limited amnesty designed to prevent the exclusion of America’s least connected rural communities from upcoming federal broadband subsidies. Under the rules of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, communities that are already covered by grants awarded under programs like the Rural Digital Opportunities Fund (RDOF) and Connect America Fund II (CAF II) are not eligible to receive BEAD fund

If you follow broadband news, you’d be forgiven for thinking we’re about to end the digital divide. That sentiment has dominated recent conversations we’ve had with foundation leaders who, having initially joined the chorus of voices calling for digital equity at the height of Covid-19, are now drifting to the sidelines, under the impression that the government’s broadband spending push will solve the problem. It won’t. Despite its ambition, the latest round of public investment will not reach all 42 million Americans still living without internet access.

Hey there. Lonely heart here, looking for that spark, that zing, that high-speed connection that doesn’t drop when things get hot. A relationship that promises gigabits of love and delivers every single byte. I long for a forever network that isn’t afraid to go the distance, preferably without data caps. So don’t promise me a whole new digital world if you don’t have the upload speed to back it up. The ideal date night? It’s simple: you, me, and a router that doesn’t need to be reset every hour. Netflix and chill?

In 2024, the first Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants will go out — an ambitious $42 billion in subsidies to build broadband infrastructure to close America’s digital divide. While excited and hopeful, I’m not alone in worrying that there is a significant gap between BEAD’s ambition and what it will likely deliver. BEAD alone is not enough. Here are five reasons why:

Connect Humanity invites experienced vendors to submit proposals for Mapping and Gap Analysis services in the Appalachian Region, specifically related to broadband demand across 12 states (Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia). The purpose of this project is to create AGOL environments for each of our grantees on which they can begin designing proposed broadband network builds.

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, the US government’s $42 billion broadband grants program, requires recipients to provide a Letter of Credit for 25% of the grant award. Alongside the additional 25% match requirement, this capital barrier will shut out a huge number of internet service providers (ISP).The small and community-centered ISPs, minority and women-owned businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities that the program claims to be targeting will be most affected.

Connect Humanity is excited to announce that Connect Humanity and Appalachian Community Capital are partnering to raise a $25 million fund Investing in Digital Equity in Appalachia (IDEA).

Connect Humanity is investing in a fiber network in Macon County, Alabama. The Macon County Economic Development Authority (MCEDA) has been working diligently to expand internet access in the county, where 40% of families have lacked access to home internet at broadband speeds. With support from Rural LISC, MCEDA entered into a public private partnership with rural internet provider Point Broadband to build out a fiber network that would deliver quality, affordable broadband to families and businesses across the county.