Individuals who primarily Reside in a Rural Area

Viasat, Inc. announced the second satellite in the upcoming Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission has completed thermal vacuum testing at Northrop Grumman’s Dulles, VA, site: a significant milestone as the project looks to connect the Arctic region with high speed broadband in the second half of 2024. The mission, led by the Space Norway subsidiary Heosat, will see two satellites deployed in a highly elliptical orbit (HEO) in the world’s first HEO mission carrying a broadband commercial service payload.

The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) announced that two Illinois Probation Departments/County Court Services Departments were each awarded a $5,000 grant from the Foundation for Rural Services-Community Service Grants Program. The Foundation for Rural Services (FRS) is a nonprofit organization that works with the National Telephone Cooperative Association (NTCA) Rural Broadband Association to sustain and enhance the quality of life in rural America. Effingham County Probation Department’s ‘Discovery to Recovery Outpatient Substance Abuse Program’ will “provide new equipme

Bringing broadband to under-served parts of rural America is one element of a giant infrastructure program that began in 2021 when President Joe Biden signed it into law. It was hailed as a historic opportunity to repair America’s bridges, rebuild its roads for electric vehicles and update its power grid and communications technology. However, instead of the anticipated surge, total infrastructure spending has fallen by more than 10% in real terms since the passage of the law. The most charitable explanation is that it takes time for big projects to get going.

Representatives Andrea Salinas (D-OR) and Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) introduced the bipartisan Home-Based Telemental Health Care Act, legislation that would expand access to remote mental health and substance use services in rural America, especially for individuals working in the farming, fishing, and forestry industries.

The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing that included testimony from each of the five (yes, there are five now) FCC commissioners. A partisan tone was set by the get-go as the title for the hearing was "Oversight of President Biden's Broadband Takeover." The key questions for the Republican Members of the panel going into the hearing were:

Kansas awarded a $5 million grant to nonprofit Connected Nation to construct a carrier-neutral internet exchange point (IXP) adjacent to Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus. Construction will be done through Connected Nation IXP, a joint venture between Connected Nation and Newby Ventures. The Wichita IXP will be the first carrier-neutral IXP in Kansas. One network that will connect to the Wichita IXP is the middle-mile network planned for the state that was funded, in part, through a June 2023, $42.5 million grant awarded to the Kansas Departments of Commerce and Transportation.

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 American Community Survey (ACS) 2022 one-year estimates, which were released in September 2023, reveal the impact of digital inclusion work and the disparities that still exist. First, we have to celebrate the progress made in broadband adoption reflected in the 2022 data. From 2021 to 2022, 2.5 million new households subscribed to wireline broadband (DSL, cable, or fiber connections). This is a huge number to celebrate.

On May 10, 2023, 19 House Members wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to express concerns about the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Broadband Data Collection and asking the FCC to 1) Strengthen outreach to state and local governments on technical assistance to those interested in verifying availability and location data within their jurisdiction on a consistent basis; 2) Elevate public outreach and education opportunities for members of the public who would like to participate in the individual challenge process contained within the Broadband

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau provided guidance to Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced A-CAM), Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II auction, Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund, and Connect USVI Fund support recipients (collectively, high-cost support recipients or service providers) regarding their coordination with state broadband offices and Tribal entities to determine the eligibility of locations for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD Program), and to avoid duplicati