State

New York State Attorney General Letitia James (D-NY) secured $615,000 from three companies—LCX, Lead ID, and Ifficient—that supplied millions of fake public comments to influence a 2017 proceeding by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to repeal net neutrality rules.

The 2023 Digital Equity Spark Grantees and their projects are:

According to the US Census Bureau, between 2017 to 2021, about 28% of households in Ohio’s Columbiana County (more than 11,500 households) did not have an active broadband subscription. A similar problem exists across rural Appalachia in Ohio — and it is an expensive problem to fix. Regions like Southeast Ohio present a challenge to installing broadband due to the hilly and rural terrain.

West Virginia development officials have been focusing on expanding broadband internet service through a range of resources, Development Secretary Mitch Carmichael told legislators. Money is flowing from federal, state, and local sources; specifically $33 million in state and local recovery funds, $70 million in Capital Project Funds (CPF), and $44 million in private investment.

One of the primary uses of the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Map for the purposes of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program is the allocation process – the process of determining the amount of BEAD funds between the states, territories, and the District of Columbia (“Eligible Entities”).

Comcast and Verizon urged Maryland's highest court to strike down a 2021 law that imposes a tax on some digital ads, arguing both that the statute violates the Constitution, and that it conflicts with a 1998 federal law. The hearing centered on a 2021 Maryland law that imposes taxes on some online companies with more than $100 million in digital ad revenue.

The South Carolina Broadband Office (SCBBO) created a $100 million grant program based upon the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) 

Governor Laura Kelly (D-KS) highlighted a new program aimed at helping Kansas communities that lack high-speed internet. The Lasting Infrastructure and Network Connectivity (LINC) program will provide $30 million in competitive funding opportunities to build the infrastructure needed for more homes and businesses to access broadband. The goal of the LINC program is to reduce the cost of internet service, increase its availability, and improve its performance for users. LINC will provide opportunities for increased adoption of the internet by focusing on funding for: 

Governor Kim Reynolds (R-IA) and the Department of Management’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) announced the results of the OCIO’s Invitation to Qualify (ITQ). Ninety-six Broadband Intervention Zones were identified by Iowa communities across the state from a total of 99 applications. The ITQ process asked communities to propose areas across the State of Iowa that should be prioritized in funding decisions made under the Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Program.

Governor Kristi Noem (R-SD) and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development announced the latest ConnectSD broadband grants. These awards will make quality, high-speed internet available to underserved households in South Dakota. Over $32 million in grants were awarded for 13 projects from nine applicants.