State

I’m working with several small cities that were recently notified that the existing cable company plans to upgrade its network. In these cities, the cable company still operates a DOCSIS 3.0 network. The networks have download speeds a little faster than 100 Megabits per second (Mbps), and upload speeds are under 10 Mbps. These cities are currently considered to be underserved and are eligible for BEAD grants. I talked to the State Broadband Offices in several states about the issue of announced upgrades coming just in front of the final BEAD map challenges.

The Florida Department of Commerce (FloridaCommerce) released the State of Florida’s Digital Adoption and Use Plan for public comment. FloridaCommerce developed this plan to serve as the state’s benchmark and roadmap for closing the digital divide and increasing digital access across the state.

The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Division of Broadband and Digital Equity developed the North Carolina draft Digital Equity Plan. This plan is a comprehensive strategy that aims to ensure all individuals and communities have access to the digital tools, resources, and skills they need to participate fully in the digital environment.

As part of an effort to accelerate the expansion of high-speed internet access, Colorado officials announced that broadband service providers can install fiber along the state’s roadways at a lower rate. The Colorado Transportation Commission approved a fee schedule that makes the Colorado Department of Transportation’s property available for broadband development. Under the new fiber access fee schedule, broadband providers can pay $0.10 per foot of fiber optic line in urban counties with populations above 200,000 people and $0.03 per foot in rural counties.

Broadband funding really got rolling in 2023, as the federal government began the process of its $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. To help states and territories with their challenge process, in April, National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) released draft guidance that expands upon the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) issued in May 2022. States got their BEAD allocations, with the highest funding amounts going to Texas ($3.31 billion), California ($1.86 billion), Missouri ($1.74 billion), Michigan ($1.56 billion) and North

The South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) awarded the final round of ConnectSD broadband grants. These awards will make quality, future-proof, high-speed internet available to underserved households across the state. GOED is awarding $32.4 million to three providers. These three projects will leverage private matching dollars for a total investment of over $40.3 million, connecting over 2,160 households, farms, and businesses. The funding is from the 2021 legislative appropriation, relinquished projects, and closed projects under budget. The awardees are:

Nebraska is both an agricultural state and a state with growing metropolitan areas. Agriculture, in particular, is important to Nebraska’s economy; Nebraska ranks second in the use of precision agriculture technologies. Nebraska ranks 3rd in percent of households with fiber internet available, with 56 percent of households having fiber available. However, Nebraska ranks 30th in the availability of 25/3 Mbps and 100/20 Mbps broadband via copper, cable, fiber or licensed fixed wireless.

Governor Ned Lamont (D-CT) announced that the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services’ Commission for Educational Technology has released “Connecticut: Everyone Connected,” the state’s draft digital equity plan. This release begins a 30-day public comment period, which will end on January 20, 2024. The commission will consider all feedback and make revisions to the plan before finalizing it by the end of March 2024.

The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) asserts that connectivity has become integral to everyday activities from regular social interactions and access to media to participating in school or pursuing a career, responding to emergencies, improving farming efficiency and agricultural output, and combatting climate change. VCBB  released its draft Digital Equity Plan to ensure all Vermonters can take advantage of the benefits of this connectivity.

The third and fourth round of the Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Grant (ORBEG) program will be implemented using the $793 million in federal Broadband, Equity and Deployment (BEAD) Program funds which were allocated to Ohio by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in June 2023. A prerequisite to executing the ORBEG-BEAD grant program is conducting the Ohio BEAD challenge process.