Broadband deployments: Government gets busy

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

Broadband initiatives are heating up across the United States at all levels of government.

Broadband initiatives are heating up across the United States at all levels of government.

At the federal level, public housing residents will be receiving broadband Internet access at low or free prices, courtesy of the Obama administration. The pilot program is part of  the larger ConnectHome initiative to provide broadband options that will close the digital divide.

About 275,000 households, including 200,000 children, will be eligible for free or low-cost ($9.95 per month) broadband access. The announcement, made mid-July, came at the same time as a report from the White House Council of Economic Advisors that highlighted the correlation between low Internet use and income. Less than half of the lowest-income families have home Internet service, according to the report. ConnectHome will be implemented in public housing units in 27 cities and one Native American tribal area, focusing on households with school-age children.

The Department of Agriculture also announced $85.8 million in total funding to strengthen access to high-speed broadband in rural areas.  The $74.8 million in telecom loans and grants will fund equipment upgrades in Minnesota, South Carolina, Montana and Wisconsin.  The $11 million in Community Connect grants will increase Internet access for rural Americans in seven states.

Massachusetts

Goshen, Mass., recently became the 20th town to authorize funding to build a fiber-optic network. In the last two months, 22 WiredWest communities in Western Massachusetts have passed bond authorizations totaling $34.5 million to build a regional fiber-optic network, according to WiredWest.  Towns in Western Massachusetts have until June 2016 to authorize funding to meet the deadline for state funding of the project. Currently 15 towns have more than 40 percent of their premises subscribed for broadband access.

Kentucky

Kentucky ranks 47th in the nation in broadband access. In rural areas, approximately 23 percent of residents have no Internet access. The state’s KentuckyWired project will build fiber optic network, also referred to as the middle mile or backbone, that will allow broadband service to be brought closer to communities throughout Kentucky. The state is partnering with Australian investment bank Macquarie Capital to design and oversee the expansion costs, expected to be about $350 million over the next 30 years. The plan is to build the network at no cost to taxpayers.  The first phase of the KentuckyWired project is anticipated to begin in August, when two communities will be chosen to work with consultants to develop broadband strategic plans.

New York

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced the launch of the  Broadband Expansion in Industrial Business Zones, or Connect IBZ,  to improve access to high-speed Internet to underserved businesses in Brooklyn and Queens. The $5.3 million public-private partnership will create high-speed commercial broadband networks in the Southwest Brooklyn, Long Island City, North Brooklyn and Greenpoint-Williamsburg. The networks will be designed, constructed, maintained and operated by Stealth Communications Services and Xchange Telecom, two New York City-based ISPs.  NYCEDC will provide over $1.6 million for the program from the New York State Connect NY Broadband Grant Program, with the remaining funds ($3.75 million) provided by the ISPs. The funding will cover the cost of building the network and buildouts to at least 500 commercial businesses over two years. Further expansion will be funded by the ISPs.

Iowa

Gov. Terry Branstad recently signed the “Connect Every Acre” broadband expansion bill, establishing a state-run grant program, although it would depend on money from the federal government, private-sector investors and nonprofits initially to fund the grants. While no state money will fund the program, companies that expand the reach of their high-speed broadband service into remote areas will receive a property tax exemption for 10 years.

Maryland

Sens. Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski, together with Rep. John Delaney (all D-Md.) announced that the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)  awarded the Board of County Commissioners of Allegany County in western Maryland $100,000 for a project to expand public and private broadband access. The grant will fund the AllCoNet Backbone Microwave Link Upgrade Project. The AllCoNet Network provides broadband service to many critical public services in Allegany County including the 911 center, emergency management, sheriff's office, detention center, transit, state’s attorney, utilities, transportation, public schools, county library system, and fire departments in many cities and towns.

The grant also will fund the purchase and installation of 56 radios at spur tower locations, replacing obsolete equipment that is more than 15 years old in order to increase bandwidth and provide additional reliability. Allegany County and CONXX will both provide $50,000 in funding, bringing the total project funding to $200,000.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.