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Bergen County, New Jersey Quickly Expanding Municipal Fiber Footprint
Bergen County, New Jersey officials say they’re making significant progress on their plan to dramatically expand Bergen County Fiber – the county’s new municipal fiber Institutional Network (I-Net) – with recently completed deployments in communities like Little Ferry and Lodi.
Chittenden County CUD Continues Affordable Fiber Expansion In Vermont
Chittenden County Communication Union District recently completed a planned fiber extension into the heavily rural communities of Essex Town, Essex Junction, Jericho, Shelburne, Westford, and Williston. The deployment was completed in partnership with Fidium Fiber, which says the expansion brought fiber optic connectivity to more than 1,900 homes and businesses across the six towns for the first time ever.
Illinois Bill Seeks Broadband Price Caps for Low-Income Customers
lllinois State Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, has introduced legislation directing regulators to set broadband price protections for low-income residents, though the bill text leaves key details to be determined later. The measure joins those in other states, including Connecticut, Maryland, and Minnesota, that have introduced measures aimed at capping broadband prices for qualifying households.
With ACP Gone, New Mexico Creates First State-Level Internet Affordability Program
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law today new legislation that aims to provide tens of thousands of low-income households in “The Land of Enchantment” an Internet lifeline similar to the now-expired federal Affordable Connectivity Program. It makes the state the first to step up in the absence of federal action to support households that just can’t afford to pay for monthly service, and will directly support 173,000 households, offering up to a $30/month for qualified households to pay for Internet service.
Bois Forte Band Begins Construction on $20 Million Tribal Fiber Project
The Bois Forte Band of Chippewa (also referred to as Ojibwe) has officially begun construction on a foundational fiber optic broadband expansion project in northern Minnesota. The ambitious undertaking is supported by a significant $20 million grant awarded under the 2021 Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, marking a major step forward in modernizing infrastructure for the sovereign nation.
Our Community Network Map Now Shows Tribal Networks Across the United States
We've been adding features and functionality to our brand new community network map to show in more detail where and what publicly owned networks are building around the United States. Today, we take a big step: adding Tribal networks serving their communities to the map.
NTIA Signals It Will Follow Law on Non-Deployment Funds, But Wants More Ideas
Close to a 1,000 broadband-minded registrants attended yesterday’s NTIA listening session, surfacing suggestions on how to spend “non-deployment” funds. Given how many advocates attended yesterday’s listening session, NTIA officials agreed to hold yet another listening session next Wednesday, February 18.
Lehi, Utah Finishes Open Access Fiber Network
Lehi, Utah and its partner Strata Networks say they’ve completed construction of Lehi Fiber, the city-owned, open access fiber network that’s dramatically reshaped broadband affordability and competition in the city of 80,000. Locals now have the options of multiple tiers of service across the five different Internet Service Providers.
A $20 Verizon Internet Deal on Paper – Will Depend Heavily on Enforcement
California’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recently signed off on Verizon’s $20 billion merger with telecom giant Frontier with some notable conditions. While the concessions extracted from Verizon by the CPUC are promising, they’ll require consistent monitoring and enforcement, something that hasn’t always been a strong suit when it comes to state and federal oversight of politically powerful regional telecom monopolies.
Starlink Demands Less Oversight As It Receives Hundreds Of Millions In New Subsidies
Elon Musk’s Starlink is making new demands of states with an eye on eroding accountability and oversight, reheating concerns about whether spending big money on the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) network is the best possible use of taxpayer resources. Last week, Broadband.io and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society obtained a copy of a letter Starlink parent company SpaceX sent to individual states, demanding freedom from state oversight and monitoring should they bungle installs or fail to deliver acceptable bandwidth.
New Mexico Completes First ARPA Broadband Deployment In Rural Chaves County
New Mexico’s Office of Broadband Access and Expansion has announced the completion of a landmark broadband infrastructure expansion project that delivered affordable next-gen broadband access to dozens of long-neglected homes in a remote subdivision in rural Chaves County. The successful completion of the Chaves County project is OBAE’s first grant project to reach 100 percent completion, and the first Connect New Mexico Pilot Program project funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act Capital Projects Fund to reach the final stage.
Maryland Lawmakers Advance Broadband Affordability Bill Despite Federal Pushback
Two dozen state lawmakers in Maryland have signed on to the Broadband Opportunity and Fairness Act, state legislation that seeks to address broadband affordability. Introduced by Delegate Kris Fair (D-3A, Frederick Co.), the bill now has 25 co-sponsors and is slated for a Feb. 12 legislative hearing before the House Economic Matters Committee. Companion legislation has yet to be filed in the Senate, though Delegate Fair’s office says they are in discussions with state Senators about advancing a bill through that chamber as well.