Brightspeed’s Post

#Broadband connectivity touches every aspect of American society. In Texas, over 7 million people are on the wrong side of the #digitaldivide. Check out this research from TX about broadband initiatives: https://ow.ly/Vsu250Q3ii4

"With billions of dollars at stake, and all of the technological means to get this right, the time is now to bridge the #digitaldivide for every American family." — Carl Guardino, Tarana's VP of Government Affairs and Public Policy Read the full article to learn how #ngFWA technology has rewritten what's possible with wireless broadband and its implications on the "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity created by the #BEAD program: https://lnkd.in/gS_WwqFR

Access to high-speed internet is the number 1 economic issue of our time. This week, Solomon Graves delivered a keynote speech titled “Connecting the Heartland” at the Fiber Broadband Association’s Regional Fiber Connect Workshop in Little Rock and discussed efforts to close the digital divide. Solomon’s speech took its name from one of our signature programs. Through Connecting the Heartland (CTH), we sought to close the digital divide and give families across the heartland access to the high-speed internet necessary to participate in the digital age. We set our goals high and we exceeded them. CTH helped connect 120k previously unserved households via policy work and direct investment, enroll 100k households in home internet service, pass laws and secure funding for future efforts. Solomon’s keynote reminds us all to promote economic development in the heartland, we must close the digital divide. Through clear and defined action, we can make a positive impact on the most pressing economic issue of our time. Read more about CTH here: https://lnkd.in/evb63FBZ

"With billions of dollars at stake, and all of the technological means to get this right, the time is now to bridge the hashtag #digitaldivide for every American family." — Carl Guardino Tarana's VP of Government Affairs and Public Policy Read the full article to learn how hashtag #ngFWA technology has rewritten what's possible with wireless broadband and its implications on the "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity created by the hashtag #BEAD program: https://lnkd.in/gS_WwqFR

Now is a great time for electric co-ops and utilities to consider providing broadband services. https://lnkd.in/g9KqbT9Z Federal grants make the economics worth taking a look. If your community is underserved by broadband services, where do you start? This article gives an outline of the process. #telecommunications #broadband #publicpower

Now is a great time for electric co-ops and utilities to consider providing broadband services. https://lnkd.in/gBqZ9hw2 Federal grants make the economics worth taking a look. If your community is underserved by broadband services, where do you start? This article gives an outline of the process. #telecommunications #broadband #publicpower

Access to affordable, high-speed internet is the no. 1 economic issue of our time, is is not about our ability to compete locally, it’s about the capability to compete everywhere with everyone - Solomon Graves, Director of Public Policy, Heartland Forward Fiber Broadband Association #fiberbroadband #fiberconnect

Exciting updates in the world of digital equity! Here's a quick rundown: National Broadband Map 3.0 Released: The FCC unveils the latest version, showcasing a significant drop in locations without internet access, thanks to ongoing efforts and public participation in challenging data accuracy. Let's celebrate progress and anticipate more with each map refresh! 🗺️ #DigitalEquity #BroadbandAccess Maryland Invests $27M in Internet Devices: Governor Wes Moore announces a substantial investment to provide over 133,000 laptops to underserved households. A commendable step toward bridging the digital divide. Share your thoughts during the public comment window on the state broadband plan! 💻 #Maryland #DigitalInclusion Colorado's Broadband Workforce Plan: The Colorado Broadband Office and the Office of the Future of Work release a comprehensive plan to address workforce challenges hindering broadband deployment. Help shape the future by sharing your feedback! 🛠️ #WorkforceDevelopment #BroadbandEquity California Seeks Library Broadband Access Grants Manager: The California State Library is hiring for a crucial role in managing broadband access grants. Join the initiative to connect public libraries and communities with reliable and affordable high-speed internet. 📚 #LibraryAccess #CaliforniaJobs Senators Introduce Bill to Lower Broadband Costs: A bipartisan effort presents the Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act of 2023, aiming to ease financial burdens on consumers and providers in rural and tribal areas. Stay informed and support this impactful legislation! 🤝 #BroadbandCosts #DigitalEquality Exciting times ahead as we collectively work towards a more connected and inclusive digital future! 💻🌐 #DigitalTransformation #EquitableAccess

The Pennsylvania Broadband Authority announced a proposed $9,673,144 grant to Comcast to expand high-speed internet to approximately 2,500 households across underserved portions of southern York County. Since 2020, the County of York and the YoCo Fiber Broadband Task Force have worked to document gaps in internet service across large swathes of York County and advocate to state and federal officials for increased public and private investment to expand broadband infrastructure. Although there remains much more to be done before our county is fully served, this is the type of investment that occurs when a county sets an ambitious vision to close the digital divide and welcomes all public and private partners and government officials to the table. We look forward to working with Comcast to ensure they are able to deploy funding and expand access to these households as quickly as possible. And we encourage other private internet service providers to join this work and continue investing in the YoCo Fiber’s vision for affordable countywide high speed, broadband access. York County Economic Alliance https://lnkd.in/efqQfivp

Doug Dawson's post should be taken seriously--"We are now poised to do it all over again. We have a gigantic broadband grant program that clearly favors big companies over small ones," History didn't just repeat once, but has been continuous because there is no 'institutional memory', and what is seriously scary is that every state's current 5 year broadband plan never even mentions the fact that in each state the companies were supposed to be upgrading their copper-based utility networks with fiber optics; state laws were changed to fund these upgrades via rate increases and tax perks -- and instead, we have the Digital Divide and prices that are no longer just and reasonable. This chart is from our new book "Violations and Egregious Acts", the culmination of a series, "The Book of Broken Promises", that started in 1998, and this article summarizes our 'Groundhog Day -- where those with a memory and a conscience, like Doug, keep watching history repeating itself-- - https://lnkd.in/eGDRktTU