Community Anchor Institutions

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, in collaboration with the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, recently hosted a webinar series titled the Power of Partnership: State Strategies for Digital and Educational Equity.

You didn’t need testing equipment to measure the state of Purdue University’s Wi-Fi network. You just needed to look on Reddit, where complaints were flying. That was the situation Ian Hyatt walked in to when he took a job as CIO of Purdue University three years ago.

The US Supreme Court just overturned Chevron v. The Natural Resources Defense Council, a 40 year old precedent for how government works. This is big news for anyone interested in the way technology (and Big Tech) shape public policy, and vice versa. Why does Chevron matter? As ordained by our political system, Congress is supposed to set rules and regulations that protect our rights. In today’s world, no elected representative can be an expert on every topic where they are called to make a decision.

More than 70,000 Kansas households lack broadband access and over 35,000 additional households’ existing service options render them “underserved.” In addition, many of Kansas’ 8,500 community anchor institutions (CAIs) lack gigabit-level broadband service that would better allow them to provide full levels of support to their communities.

Here’s what to expect for the Federal Communications Commission's jam-packed July Open Meeting agenda.

Every person in America should be able to access affordable, high-speed internet no matter where they live or how much they earn. I am proud to highlight that we are finalizing a rule to allow schools and libraries—primarily in low-income and rural areas—to use funding from the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program for Wi-Fi hotspots that will increase access to remote learning and virtual library services. Additionally, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will award over $9 million to the state of Nevada to implement their Digital Equity Plan.

Millions of students, school staff, and library patrons around the country are on the wrong side of the digital and educational divide and, as a result, lack the same access to educational resources as their peers.

On June 17, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, in partnership with the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, hosted a webinar titled The Power of Partnership: State Strategies for Digital and Educational Equity.

Across North Carolina, 63 community service, nonprofit, higher education and regional organizations will get $30 million in Digital Champion grants to help North Carolinians access and use high-speed internet.

The Los Angeles school board set in motion a plan to ban cellphones all day on campus, saying the devices distract students from learning, lead to anxiety, and allow cyberbullying.