Universal Broadband

PBDA Approves $45 million in Funding to Ensure Pennsylvanians Can Access Reliable, High-Speed Internet

Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) Executive Director Brandon Carson announced the approval of $45 million in Multi-Purpose Community Facilities grant funding to 49 projects in 26 counties across Pennsylvania. This funding will support key projects in local communities and help connect Pennsylvanians to the internet at places like a primary care health center in Allegheny County, affordable housing in Delaware County, and a public library in Northumberland County.

New Hampshire Pursues Affordable Broadband With BEAD

Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, New Hampshire will receive $196.5 million and will be given the opportunity to finally close the digital divide for the entire state, finishing the task undertaken with previous state and federal programs. BEAD will bring unparalleled investment in broadband infrastructure over the next five years and has tasked the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) Office of Broadband with bringing affordable broadband to all New Hampshire residents.

Jefferson County, Ohio, secures $2.5 million grant for broadband expansion in underserved areas

Jefferson County (OH) is receiving $2.5 million in an Appalachian Regional Commission POWER grant to go toward expanding broadband services. The services will be targeted to the underserved areas of the northern part of the county, including the townships of Knox, Ross, Salem, Springfield, Island Creek, and Wayne. "A group of about 750 addresses that have been identified -- the bulk of them are households,” Brooke Hancock Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission Executive Director Mike Paprocki said.

NTIA Head Calls GOP Criticism of BEAD 'Election-Year Politics'

Alan Davidson, chief of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the Commerce Department, dismissed Republican criticisms of the Biden administration’s $42 billion broadband expansion program as "election-year politics." Recent attacks have shifted toward Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been dubbed the "Broadband Czar" by Republicans like Sen.

FWA and the Urban Digital Divide

The end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) put the kibosh on the business plans of internet service providers (ISPs) working to tackle the urban digital divide. I’m aware of a several ISPs working to bring broadband to neighborhoods where the majority of customers qualified for the $30 ACP discount.

Affordable Connectivity Program is Part of Harris' Opportunity Agenda

Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) says she will build an Opportunity Economy where everyone has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead. Renewing the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is part of that agenda. Earlier this year, Congress failed to allocate funding for ACP and made monthly broadband bills more expensive for 23 million households enrolled in the program.

Vermont CUDs figure out broadband without help from incumbents

A group in Vermont got so fed up with the lack of high-speed broadband in small towns and rural areas—and the complete lack of interest by incumbent telephone and cable companies—that it went to the Vermont legislature for permission to create a communications union district (CUD). There are now nine CUDs successfully operating in Vermont, and these groups are poised to garner the lion’s share of Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) awards in the state. The trailblazing CUD was ECFiber, which has been so successful that it doesn’t plan to apply for BEAD funds because it’s already

Defeating the Digital Divide

Building on the Defeating the Digital Divide series, Kids First Chicago presents new findings from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) data, released in December 2023, and makes three key recommendations: 

Equity Fact Sheet: How Internet for All Investments Are Reaching Underserved Communities

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative addresses the Nation’s digital divide by bringing high-speed Internet availability, device affordability, and digital literacy to left-behind communities. Some of those programs and their impacts:

Mayor Wu Announces Historic Amount of Funding Awarded for Digital Equity in Boston

Mayor Michelle Wu announced that 36 community-based organizations will receive $1,418,000 in grants through the City of Boston’s 2023-24 Digital Equity Fund. This is the largest iteration of the program to date, reaffirming Mayor Wu’s commitment to closing the digital divide in Boston.