News

If you're a community considering building or partnering to build publicly owned broadband infrastructure in the near future, we want to hear from you.

Even before the central Florida city of Ocala in Marion County became officially known as “The Horse Capital of the World,” the city – home to 61,810 Floridians and over 1,200 county-wide horse farms – was already galloping toward high-speed Internet connectivity.

Join us on YouTube Live this Thursday, August 5th, at 5pm ET for the return of the Connect This Show!

In this report published by the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society, ILSR's Sean Gonsalves, Christopher Mitchell, and Jericho Casper profile how six community networks in a diverse range of places stepped up to meet the needs of their communities, bringing faster, more reliable, and more affordable service. 

The Vermont Department of Public Service released its most recent 10-year telecommunications plan earlier this month, once again prioritizing Communication Union Districts (CUDs) as the key to closing the digital divide and connec

Our new report, Minnesota Broadband: Land of 10,000 Connectivity Solutions [pdf], showcases the diverse range of approaches communities and local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have taken to expand affordable, high-quality Internet access in Minnesota.

Hampton Roads, a metropolitan region bordering the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia, is known for its 17th century historical sites, shipyards crowded with naval aircraft carriers, and mile-long bridge tunnels.

After working over a year to obtain licenses to deploy fiber across town, by this time next week the central Connecticut town of Plainville, home to approximately 17,500 residents, will begin construction of a municipal fiber network. When finished, the network will connect all town offices, public education facilities, public safety services, and wastewater treatment facilities.

Snapshot

New Jersey establishes state committee to strategize deployment of community broadband networks

Louisiana Senate amends bill, opening state grant program to municipally-owned providers

Washington laws expanding municipal authority to provide retail service take effect

The State Scene

In a video published by Corning Optical Communications in June, ILSR Community Broadband Networks Director, Christopher Mitchell explains why municipal networks are so important to consider when communities are trying to connect more of the

In case you missed it, earlier this month President Biden signed an executive order that aims to promote competition in the U.S. economy. The order includes 72 initiatives, directing a dozen different federal agencies to promote competition in key sectors. 

We're excited to announce that two postdoctoral fellows will be joining the Institute for Local Self-Reliance this coming fall to undertake one-year broadband projects to advance policy intitiatives and help move the needle towards universal, affordable, high-speed Internet access in the United States. 

As Senators involved in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework are negotiating over legislative language on how to spend $65 billion aimed at expanding high-speed Internet connectivity in “unserved” and “underserved” par

Since the passing of the Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act (TBAA) in 2017, the state has poured more than $100 million into connecting its

With an estimated 22 percent of Americans in rural areas and 28 percent of indigenous Americans on Tribal lands living without access to broadband that meets the federal minimum definition of 25/3 Mbps, the Wireless Communication Alliance is bringing together a panel of experts to explore how broadband deployment will transform rural America and Native Nations in

Snapshot

Maine broadband authority redefines statewide broadband as symmetrical 100/100 Mbps connection

California Legislature and Governor reach $5.25 billion agreement on statewide middle-mile network

New Hampshire matching grant initiative aiming to promote partnerships signed by Governor

The winners of the Truist EPIC grant program, which we wrote about earlier this year, have been announced.

We have covered on numerous occasions the fiber-to-the-home boom underway in the rural hill towns of western Massachusetts.