State
Build or Buy Middle-Mile Networks? Diverse Solutions
The most important decision when designing and building a statewide middle-mile fiber-based network is whether to build a brand new long-distance fiber-optic cable route in areas where none exist, or use strands within an already installed cable via a pre-paid, discounted long-term lease called an IRU. In California for example, its great diversity of population centers, geographic and topographic terrains, weather conditions, and natural hazards greatly influences the presence, or absence, of fiber-based middle-mile infrastructure.
Five-County Vermont Organization Shares Details on Rural Broadband Funding
Vermont has been funding a considerable portion of projects undertaken by communications union districts (CUDs) – local organizations representing at least two towns that will own the broadband infrastructure that they deploy. One of these CUDs is NEK (Northeast Kingdom) Broadband, which represents five counties. NEK Broadband expects to need between $165 million and $185 million to achieve the goal of ensuring high-speed broadband internet service is available to the most rural and underserved communities.
Conexon executive flags impending Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program mapping issues
Conexon Partner and former Federal Communications Commission planner Jonathan Chambers warned that the FCC’s broadband mapping effort is headed for disaster—flagging potential issues with state-level mapping efforts which he said could slow or bias the funding allocation process for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program support. There are two primary problems at the federal level. The first is the method Congress has chosen for calculating the ratio of BEAD funding given to each state on top of the baseline $100 million allocation that has been granted across the board. Un
Minnesota officials estimate $650 million in broadband funding to come from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Minnesota is poised for an unprecedented windfall of money to help build high-speed internet in rural areas; estimating $550 million in extra cash. This will bring Minnesota up to $650 million for broadband from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The final amount Minnesota will get won’t be known until later, and it’s dependent on maps of areas without access to broadband that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) needs to update. In addition, Minnesota must submit a plan for how it would use the money over a five-year period.
Ohio’s Individual Microcredential Assistance Program Awards Focus on Broadband-Related Credentialing
Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted (OH-R), who is also Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation (OWT), awarded four training providers located throughout the state with $592,215 to support 410 broadband or 5G-related credentials through the Individual