Infrastructure

In 1937, when only about 10 percent of Central Virginians in rural areas had electric service, a small group of citizens banded together to form the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative. With some help from a new federal loan program, they brought electricity to the mountainous, rural terrain, which encompasses areas such as the Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Trail. Some 80 years later, that same co-op is working to connect its territory again, this time by bringing high-speed internet access to its 38,000 electricity members across parts of 14 counties. It's not an easy job.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau established the procedures for its investment of up to $691.2 million over the next ten years to support the deployment of advanced, hardened broadband and voice networks to all locations in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL) announced that Illinois releasing $50 million in funding for the first round of matching grants of Connect Illinois, the state's $420 million statewide broadband expansion. Applicants are required to provide at least 50% of non-state funding, effectively doubling the size of the nation's largest state competitive grant program to expand high-speed internet. Applicants are anticipated to include internet service providers, rural cooperatives, nonprofits and local governments.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) invested $13.3 million in two, high-speed broadband infrastructure projects that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for more than 1,000 rural households in southeastern Oklahoma. Pine Telephone and Pine Cellular are based in Broken Bow (OK). Pine Telephone will receive a $5.6 million USDA ReConnect program grant. Pine Cellular will receive a $7.7 million ReConnect program grant. Both projects will deploy fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) in parts of Pushmataha and McCurtain counties.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) invested $10.3 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for 2,875 rural households, 10 pre-subscribed farms, three pre-subscribed businesses and two educational facilities in Yates County, New York. Yates County will use a $10.3 million ReConnect Program grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband network capable of delivering speeds up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps).

For the past several years, the Government Technology editorial team has picked apart State of the State addresses, looking for clues about new initiatives and areas of focus that will touch technology. As of Feb 3, 2020, about two-thirds of governors have delivered these speeches. Increasingly, governors are using their platforms to underscore the importance of making sure all residents, regardless of where they live, have options to get online. Internet access has profound impacts on opportunities in education, jobs, health care and nearly every other facet of modern life.

At rallies and town halls across Iowa, health care, climate change, and education were the top concerns, no matter which candidate was on stage. That’s in line with Gallup polling, which shows infrastructure as thirteenth behind more common concerns like health care, education and economic policy. But the simple question of internet access sits in the background of many of those issues.

In the coming years, 5G wireless Internet stands poised to remake the online world, its unprecedented speed enabling advances in everything from public safety to virtual reality. Within this progress, however, there exists another near-certainty — segments of the population will be left out of the advantages.

After deciding to shut New York and Alaska out of the new Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has made another change that could reduce or eliminate funding available for broadband providers in other US states.

On Dec 9, 48 senators wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to say that, as the FCC considers new rules in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), it should emphasize the importance of sustainable networks that meet the needs of consumers now and in the future.