Broadband

HighSpeedInternet.com, a website used by individuals to test Internet speed and compare providers, recently published findings on internet speed in all 50 states, and Idaho was ranked at the bottom.

The application process to access the funding is expected to change, the state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion said, but officials anticipate receiving money from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.

The city’s new Internet Service Enrollment Line can connect residents who qualify to inexpensive Internet service. Callers must be enrolled in programs including CalFresh or Medi-Cal to be eligible.

More than 45,000 residents living in Hawaii’s public housing communities soon will have access to high-speed fiber Internet under a new public-private partnership.

The funding will expand access to high-speed Internet around the city. Its Municipal Broadband Utility will develop a network that incorporates existing infrastructure, as feasible, with fiber-optic and wireless technologies.

For years, the 3,600 residents of Lake Providence, La., pushed for better Internet. They were set to get it until the Trump administration announced new rules for a national broadband build-out.

The high court preserved the Universal Service Fund, which finds its beginnings in the 1934 Communications Act. It includes E-rate, and is intended to ensure effective telecommunications across America.

Information and security officers from Oregon educational institutions shared insight on making people within their organizations more cognizant of cybersecurity and developing appropriate cyber defense strategies.

Plus, proposed legislation aims to address rural broadband funding issues, states address federal funding cuts and program changes, Spectrum is investing in digital skills training, and more.

New federal funding cuts are impacting plans for high-speed Internet and digital inclusion work, leaving state broadband directors to explore alternate financing and other ways to move forward.

Plus, experts encourage including artificial intelligence skills in digital literacy programming, Tennessee libraries are getting funding to teach such skills, Maine launched a new device sharing program, and more.

Tribal communities are some of the nation’s least connected areas, making them fertile ground for innovative broadband deployments and tech. Speakers on a recent panel said open-access, tribe-owned systems may be best.

Plus, Kansas is expanding Internet access and digital literacy, local governments in Ohio are investing in skills training, a new workshop series focuses on artificial intelligence use, and more.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke signed bills establishing a state Broadband Office and expanding digital literacy services. The new office will ensure high-speed Internet reaches the underserved statewide.

Federal officials have unveiled widely anticipated revisions regarding the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. States had paused some activities in anticipation of the changes.

Two routes that will run underneath the lake, bringing faster Internet to thousands of Michiganders and connecting Benton Harbor to Chicago, are in environmental review and engineering.

Plus, a second FCC commissioner has announced his departure, a survey reveals a major area lacking in digital accessibility efforts, local governments are expanding their fiber networks, and more.

The Residential Retrofit Program of Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Massachusetts Broadband Institute, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, has delivered high-speed Internet to an apartment complex in Springfield.