Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced plans "for a pilot program to bring broadband internet to all of rural America." The plan "will provide $600 million in grants and loans to internet service providers to bring connection to parts of the country that are too remote, underpopulated or expensive to service." While most of the projects will bring internet connection to paying customers at homes or businesses, "19 proposals have laid out plans to build community centers where residents could access the internet free of charge," which Secretary Perdue acknowledged was necessary when he announced the pilot program.
'Still a lot more to do' as Minnesota lawmakers push for border-to-border broadband
Broadband deployment advocates asked lawmakers to "back a proposal to boost state funding to fill gaps in internet coverage in pockets of rural Minnesota." The requests came a day after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz proposed spending $70 million to expand high-speed internet access acro...
Manchin visits Central WV to discuss broadband access
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) spoke before the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council about trying to expand the reach of broadband throughout the state. In his remarks, Sen. Manchin said, "We want to make sure that we understand who we are in West Virginia, the maps that a...
Ajit Pai says broadband access is soaring—and that he’s the one to thank
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said that the commission’s annual broadband assessment "will show that his deregulatory policies have substantially improved access in the United States," and will conclude that broadband "is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely ba...
Our view: How to grow our rural economy
The Fayetteville Observer published an editorial highlighting that in small towns and across the countryside in North Carolina, internet service "too often is barely faster than it was in the early days of dial-up service." The editorial stated that lawmakers "have been unwilling ...
Internet providers want tax break to install broadband
Internet service providers "are asking the state Legislature to give them a decade-long property tax break on fiber optics they install" in Montana. Geoff Feiss, general manager of the Montana Telecommunications Association said that, "Making it more financially appealing to insta...
MobiledgeX public mobile edge network goes live with Deutsche Telekom
MobiledgeX, an edge computing company founded by Deutsche Telekom, completed "what it calls the first public mobile edge network with DT in Germany." The article noted that building a similar edge network in the U.S. is more complicated because unlike European counterparts, most U...