Individuals who primarily Reside in a Rural Area

Spectrum announced the launch of Spectrum Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice services to more than 1,900 homes and small businesses in Cullman County, Alabama. Spectrum’s newly constructed fiber-optic network buildout is part of the company’s approximately $5 billion RDOF-related investment in unserved rural communities, partly offset by $1.2 billion in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) RDOF auction. The company’s RDOF expansion will provide broadband access to 1.3 million customer locations across 24 states in the coming years.

A look at each state’s response to the National Technology and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Notice of Funding Opportunity’s (NOFO) Requirement 20 on Middle-Class Affordability and Requirement 16 for a Low-Cost Broadband Service Option.  This list also provides background information on the degree of participation in BEAD by municipal, tribal, and other government-owned networks (GONs) in each state. Thirteen states have affordability strate

ACA Connects, in partnership with Cartesian, announced the release of “BEAD Program: A Framework to Allocate Funding for Broadband Availability – Version 4.0.” This newest version, using data from the latest National Broadband Map, estimates that when States and Territories begin to select broadband deployment projects, 6.4 million unserved and underserved locations will be eligible for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding and that the program should be able to

While the future of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) remains uncertain, it is worth reviewing how the program fared in rural America. Home broadband adoption rates in rural areas have historically been 5-10 percentage points lower than those in urban locations.

Reps John Curtis (R-UT) and Annie Kuster (D-NH) introduced the Rural Broadband Protection Act to combat waste fraud and abuse in federal broadband programs.

The State of New Mexico recognizes the transformative power of technology in fostering an inclusive and prosperous society for all of New Mexico’s diverse and unique communities and across New Mexico’s rich tapestry of cultures and languages as well as its diverse geographies. With this in mind, the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) released its draft State Digital Equity Plan for public comment in late 2023.

In December 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued fines for two internet service providers that the FCC says defaulted on Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) obligations. RDOF was the FCC subsidy program where broadband subsidies were awarded by a reverse auction that ended in December 2020. The first fine was to Etheric Communications for $732,000 for 244 locations. Etheric was one of the largest RDOF winners, having won $248.6 million to cover 64,463 locations.

It will be super complicated for states to define the bidding areas for Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment (BEAD) grants. Some states may define bid areas by census blocks, school districts, or some other defined geography or cluster, while other states may go with a “free-for-all” approach, allowing bidders to say where they want to bid.

John Deere will tap SpaceX’s satellite fleet to propel the tractor maker’s digital farming push and help automate planting and harvesting in remote locations. The world’s largest farm machinery manufacturer signed a deal with SpaceX’s Starlink business to connect tractors, seed planters, crop sprayers, and other equipment in areas that lack adequate internet service, allowing them to use Deere’s digital products. Illinois-based Deere has been investing billions of dollars in building out computer-assisted services for farmers, including software that allows herbicide sprayers to distinguish

In 2022, Governor Ned Lamont (D-CT) called on the Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology within the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to lead the State’s efforts around digital equity. In late 2023, the commission released its draft digital equity plan, Connecticut: Everyone Connected, for public comment.