County

Heartland Forward is a nonpartisan, nonprofit “think and do tank” focused on improving economic performance in the center of the United States. Its Connecting the Heartland initiative aims to boost internet availability, speeds, and adoption rates across America’s heartland.

As it gears up to meet a goal of full broadband connectivity by 2025, Washtenaw County (MI) has launched a digital map that tracks its progress, thanks to American Rescue Plan Act dollars and general county funds.

For community leaders striving for digital equity, I am happy to share Pathways to Digital Equity, a guidebook to help communities evaluate and meet specific connectivity needs.

A Maine group that has halted previous municipal broadband networks is out to convince the Caribou City Council to dump the city utilities district’s fiber-optic plans in favor of a Spectrum proposal. The Caribou Utilities District is applying for grants to construct a single strand of dark fiber that they claim will offer gigabit speeds to all Caribou residents, starting with those in the most rural areas. Since the district is not a city department, councilors do not have the authority to pause or stop the project.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is awarding $59 million to expand high-speed internet access to rural Michiganders through four major projects across the state, including two in the Upper Peninsula.  The Upper Peninsula Telephone Company will receive a $34,532,301 grant to install a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 1,625 people, 69 farms, 40 businesses, and two educational facilities with the higher speeds in Dickinson, Luce, Mackinac, Marquette, Menominee, and Ontonagon counties.

Of the numerous challenges that confront broadband expansion in rural areas, long driveways stand as an additional challenge. However, Charles County in Maryland is leading the charge to tackle the issue head-on. The county’s work started several years ago when it established a Rural Broadband Taskforce aimed at closing the connectivity gap there. In 2019, the task force hired a consultant to help it develop a Broadband Strategic Plan, which was subsequently approved in early 2020.

The broadband landscape across Northeastern Minnesota, and the state in general, has changed significantly since 2014, as gains made in providing access to high-speed connectivity populate communities like the Iron Range. It comes at a time when such internet connections have become critical in business, education, and often in day-to-day life.

Officials from Washington County (PA) are pressing ahead with an ambitious internet access expansion plan by earmarking up to $50 million to connect 5,000 homes, schools, and businesses. The project, which is the latest phase of a plan to connect all of the county, will unfold over six to nine months, leverage additional capital funds from vendors, and target poorly served areas for service, including the eight municipalities comprising the McGuffey School District, which is the most underserved school system in the county. Altogether, 700 miles of fiber optic cable will be strung in the la

The Federal Communications Commission set guidelines for two pilot programs aimed at increasing both awareness of and participation in the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households (and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands). On October 11, the FCC provided an update on the implementation of the pilot programs.

Over the last two years, in California and across the country, billions of public dollars have been allocated to end the digital divide. The Digital Equity LA coalition and the California Community Foundation (CCF) Digital Equity Initiative set out in this report to document what people are being asked to pay for home internet in diverse neighborhoods across Los Angeles County (CA). Pricing information was obtained directly from internet service provider (ISP) websites using residential addresses in each of the neighborhoods examined.