News

Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) has begun construction on an ambitious new fiber deployment that will soon bring affordable, multi-gigabit fiber access to all of the cooperative’s existing electrical customers in rural Northern Florida. SVEC's three-phase build out is well underway, with a beta anticipated this summer and the first commercial customers connected by August. SVEC Communications Director Jon Little says the cooperative’s goal remains to deliver affordable fiber to all 20,000 of the cooperative's current electric customers by the end of 2026.

Our initial reaction to today's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announcement on how it will allocate $42.5 billion in BEAD funds to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories. The question now is: how many states will maximize the moment?

Knoxville Utilities Board remains on track to construct one of the biggest municipal broadband deployments ever attempted, and hopes to have delivered affordable fiber access to 55,000 Knoxville households and businesses before the end of the year. Once completed, the municipal network will provide affordable fiber access to 214,000 households across KUB’s 688-square-mile service area spanning Knox, Grainger, Union, and Sevier counties.

Sometimes local coalitions can beat Goliath. To mark the moment of how community broadband won in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, Delta Interfaith, Connect Humanity, and Conexon released a new short video that captures the moving story of how people-power prevailed, beat back the regional monopoly provider, and are now seeing fiber service come to a historically underserved area. While the full build-out of the new network won’t be complete until 2024, the first subscribers are expected to start getting affordable fiber service later this year.

Say hello to our new American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellow. In September, Jessica E. Auer will join the CBN team as a postdoctoral fellow to undertake a two-year project that advances policy initiatives in support of expanding broadband access and digital sovereignty for Tribal Nations across the U.S. It’s the second time ACLS has selected ILSR as a host organization for a Leading Edge Fellowship, which embeds humanities and social science PhDs with nonprofits committed “to solve problems, build capacity, and advance justice and equity in society.”

Concerns are mounting that over $2.8 billion in potential broadband grants doled out by the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) could be wasted, further eroding the already well-criticized program’s disjointed effort to expand broadband access across rural America. These issues have not only imperiled RDOF program funding, but have thrown a wrench in the works of numerous additional government efforts to shore up broadband access, from the FCC’s long-criticized quest to accurately map U.S. broadband access, to the implementation of newer grant programs overseen by other agencies.

ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks (CBN) Initiative continues to host Let’s Get Going Broadband Bootcamps across the country. The next two upcoming bootcamps will be held in New Mexico. The in-person, hands-on bootcamps are aimed at helping participants understand broadband and digital equity basics, identify local needs, evaluate options, and chart a path forward.

Inspired by Ammon, Idaho’s heralded open-access fiber network, the city of Eagle, located in the southwestern part of the state and home to 32,000 residents, is now soaring ahead with building its own open-access fiber network to connect city facilities and bring quality broadband to residents and businesses. Meanwhile, the nearby cities of Mountain Home and Emmett are also moving forward with similar projects. Ammon’s open access network has inspired these networks, as well as others nationwide.

In Wisconsin, Republican state lawmakers voted earlier this month to kill Gov. Tony Evers’ plan to invest $750 million of Wisconsin tax dollars to expand high-speed Internet infrastructure across the Badger State. Republicans state lawmakers say the state should wait for Wisconsin’s forthcoming share of the $42.5 billion in federal BEAD funds instead. Meanwhile, Democratic state lawmakers say waiting for BEAD funds would unnecessarily delay the building of vital infrastructure and hurt the state’s economic prospects.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded a $17.5 million grant to NEK Community Broadband (NEK Broadband), providing another shot in the arm for Vermont’s fast-growing collection of Communications Union Districts (CUDs). CUDs continue to play a starring role in Vermont’s efforts to finally conquer the digital divide.

After receiving $50 million in new federal funding, the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) has begun a major expansion of its fiber network across large swaths of the state, providing many long-frustrated rural residents access to ultra-fast, affordable broadband for the first time ever. In October of last year, NHEC received a $50 million grant from the New Hampshire Business and Economic Affairs Department, made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Tomorrow, June 7, beginning at 3 pm ET, #B4DE promises to offer engaging examples, practical tools, and nuggets of insight as digital equity advocates across the nation prepare to take advantage of unprecedented federal funds and programs spurred by the Digital Equity Act and bipartisan infrastructure bill. National Digital Inclusion Alliance Executive Director Angela Siefer will offer thoughts on what those working to close the digital divide should be prioritizing in this historic moment as states are developing their digital equity plans and getting ready to receive their share of the $42.5 billion contained in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Longmont, Colorado’s NextLight community fiber network isn’t just delivering fast and affordable fiber access to locals, it’s consistently winning awards nationwide. The city-owned network has topped PC Magazine’s Readers’ Choice rankings, which asked readers to rate their satisfaction with their residential broadband providers.

South Carolina’s innovative state broadband map can accurately identify areas of over-reporting by Internet service providers (ISPs). The South Carolina State Broadband Office now performs audits on the ISPs to ensure they are submitting accurate data. The office partnered with broadband data collection company Ookla and integrated speed test data directly into the mapping system

Thanks to a coalition of local digital equity advocates inroads are being made on fixing long-broken California cable franchise law as Digital Equity LA celebrates a major victory in pressuring the California Public Utilities Commission to produce more accurate maps that will be used to determine where the state's broadband funds should be targeted. These efforts come as California is putting its $7 billion broadband expansion plan into place with an eye on boosting competition and driving down consumer costs.

With a new supportive city manager in office, Cambridge city leaders have agreed to continue to investigate the options laid out in a recently published feasibility study. The study found that for Cambridge to construct a financially sustainable citywide fiber network “a significant public contribution would be required” of between $150 and $200 million.

After decades of frustration, Block Island residents are finally getting access to affordable, next-generation broadband. The Island’s freshly-launched BroadbandBI fiber network is not only utterly transformative for island residents, it’s the first municipal owned and operated broadband network in Rhode Island history.

The Port Of Whitman County is one of several rural Washington communities set to nab another major infusion of broadband grants courtesy of federal Covid disaster relief. A fresh infusion of $1.1 million announced last week will help the County expand a five city (Palouse, Garfield, Oakesdale, Tekoa and Rosalia) fiber expansion project to 104 unserved homes.

Our next Building for Digital Equity event is only weeks away. Have you registered yet? Sponsored by UTOPIA Fiber, the June 7 virtual gathering will feature engaged debates on the hottest topics in broadband: the upcoming release of BEAD funds, the challenges with mapping, and looming implications for both urban and rural communities.

Quincy, Massachusetts is moving full speed ahead on a long-percolating plan to bring faster and more reliable broadband to a community long neglected by regional telecom monopolies. If successful, the resulting open access fiber network should dramatically boost competitive options in the city, driving down costs for what many view as an essential utility.