Help a Student: Community Wireless Survey

The City of Baltimore is making steady progress with several grant-fueled initiatives to deliver fiber and wireless to city apartment complexes to further expand affordable access. The city is putting the finishing touches on a Request for Proposal (RFP) to strike a new public-private-partnership with an as-yet-unselected broadband provider.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently unveiled plans to improve public safety, housing, and the overall livability of the Big Apple, which includes $6 million in new funding to expand the New York Public Library’s (NYPL) “Neighborhood Internet” network. But the effort still remains a far cry from the bolder, bigger, “master plan” initiative scrapped by the Adams administration in 2022.

New York State officials have unveiled the first round of broadband deployment grants made possible by the state’s $100 million Affordable Housing Connectivity Program (AHCP). The plan aims to drive affordable fiber and cheap Wi-Fi to low-income state residents trapped on the wrong side of the digital divide.

A recent U.S. News And World Report survey of U.S. broadband subscribers shows that Americans are increasingly paying more money for broadband access. The survey also indicates broad public support for the recently defunded Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and other government-backed efforts to cap soaring broadband subscription costs.

On the most recent episode of the Connect This! Show, the panel was joined by California-based Internet Exchange builder Matt Peterson of SFMIX to talk about the need for better, more practical, more forward-thinking middle mile networks across the United States.

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, ILSR celebrates the growing number of Tribal nations exercising digital sovereignty by building Tribally-owned broadband networks. Our freshly updated Indigenous Networks map and census highlights the burgeoning Tribal broadband movement, offering a window into this critical work across Indian Country. Our updates underscore how much has changed since 2020 when ILSR first undertook research on Tribal networks.