Civic Engagement

The Oregon Broadband Office has completed a draft Five-Year Action Plan and wants to hear your feedback.

The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) released Vermont’s Draft BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) Five-Year Action Plan and Draft BEAD Initial Proposal Volume 1 and wants your comments.

The Vermont Department of Public Service is seeking input from the public regarding the telecommunications facilities siting process (as established under 30 V.S.A. §248a). The goal is to conduct a study that ensures that the siting process is done in a manner that is transparent, fair, and responsive to the needs of the community, while also considering the development and expansion of telecommunications infrastructure in the state.

Digital equity—or, digital opportunity, if you prefer—is having a moment. The US is making an unprecedented investment to ensure that individuals and communities have the capacity to fully participate in our society and economy. This is a huge undertaking with momentous implications on the future of the Nation. Each state has been asked to envision how life there can be transformed by achieving digital equity.

State and federal programs have improved the availability of high-speed internet, but cost remains the primary barrier to broadband adoption for low-income households. To address this, the federal government has created consumer subsidies, such as those included in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), to ease cost burdens.

BroadbandOhio, a division of the Ohio Department of Development, released for public comment Volume I of the state's Initial Proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

Michigan received a $1.55 billion allocation through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to be used to ensure the universal availability of high-speed internet throughout the state and support digital inclusion efforts. There are many activities that need to happen before the BEAD funds can be put to work. The first step, is the creation of the BEAD Five-Year Action Plan. The Michigan High-Speed Internet (MIHI) Office has engaged with and listened to hundreds of stakeholders from every corner of the state to draft its five-year action plan.

Recently I wrote about how there are too many locations in the National Broadband Map when you compare it with the recently-released Census count of housing units. In rural areas, there are 30.1 million housing and business units according the National Broadband Map, and 24.6 million housing units according to the Census. This isn’t just academic.

Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) Executive Director Brandon Carson highlighted the Shapiro Administration’s plans to expand broadband access across the Commonwealth using more than $1.16 billion in funding through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program and outlined plans to ensure every Pennsylvanian can access the internet. The Commonwealth will receive $1.16 billion to expand broadband infrastructure to communities that currently lack reliable, affordable, high-speed internet access.

President Joe Biden (D) announced a milestone in the Internet for All funding from our $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment—or BEAD—program. Florida will receive over $1.1 billion to bring high-speed Internet service to every home and business within its borders. However, it is not enough to simply deploy Internet infrastructure. A connection to a family’s home doesn’t help if that family can’t afford Internet service.