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.
Rural broadband is now law in Mississippi
Governor Phil Bryant signed a new law helping to make rural broadband a reality, expanding internet access for thousands of families. House Bill 366 created the "Mississippi Broadband Enabling Act" and has received bi- partisan support since nearly the beginning. Lawmakers are hop...
Crown Castle has 20,000 small cell nodes in 2020 pipeline: CEO
During a conference call with investors, Crown Castle CEO Jay Brown said the firm aims to deploy between 10,000 and 15,000 small cells this year, and approximately 20,000 small cell nodes in 2020 and beyond. "Since it typically takes about 18 to 24 months for contracted nodes to b...
Rural broadband bills clear Georgia House committee
A Georgia House committee approved legislation Monday authorizing nonprofit telephone companies and electric membership corporations (EMCs) to provide broadband service in rural Georgia. Over a span of two years, the House Rural Development Council held hearings in rural counties ...
Microsoft, others combine to push rural broadband solutions
Microsoft, which has been pushing the use of TV white spaces to close the rural broadband divide, has joined with C Spire, Airspan Networks, Nokia and Siklu to form a coalition to come up with a "disruptive blueprint to close the adoption gap." The consortium will use Mississippi ...
House approves Broadband Expansion Act
During a Monday floor session vote, the West Virginia House of Delegates gave overwhelming approval to the Broadband Expansion Act of 2019. House Bill 2005 was approved 97-1 and sent to the state Senate for consideration. "Broadband development and expansion is absolutely critical...
West Virginia Broadband Day focuses on expansion effort
Last Wednesday was West Virginia Broadband Day at the Legislature, in which the House of Delegates and the Senate "recognized the importance of broadband advancements, access and expansions while a variety of displays were available for visitors." Sen. Greg Boso, R-Nicholas, said ...