Community Broadband Media Roundup - February 10

Colorado

Project Thor aims to bring Summit County into broadband future by Deepan Dutta, Summit Daily

Everyone should benefit from the higher capacity that is now available,” said Summit County Commissioner Karn Stiegelmeier, who is also board chair for the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments. “There are many potential benefits for our 911 center, for the hospital, where we often have outages that can be potentially life threatening.

 

Florida

Lakeland seeks private partners to bring forward broadband ideas by Sara-Megan Walsh, The Ledger

 

Illinois 

Illinois releases first phase of getting high-speed Internet everywhere in the State by Breane Lyga, WREX

 

Iowa

What the Iowa Caucus means for getting Iowa online by Makena Kelly, The Verge

 

Kentucky

Group in Oldham County propose municipal owned broadband system by Rose McBride, WHAS11 

 

Maryland

Companies propose $48 million investment in Internet infrastructure in Hagerstown by Alexis Fitzpatrick, Herald-Mail 

 

Massachusetts

Washington penny-pinches its way to high-speed Internet by Larry Parnass, The Berkshire Eagle 

This year, three fiber service areas will be lit up in Washington, starting with a zone west of Route 8 that could be tested by late February, Lew said. Completion paves the way for "drops" to connect the network to the first subscribers in the town's 279 premises.

 

Missouri 

$61 million investment brings broadband to rural Missourians, Chillicothe News 

 

North Carolina 

$10 million North Carolina pilot project spreads broadband by Todd Wetherington, Sun Journal 

"We like all our Internet service providers, but right now what we're seeing from my office is that the small businesses and the cooperatives are really stepping up and filling in that void where others don't want to go and serve folks," said Sural.

 

Oklahoma

USDA invests $13.3 million in rural broadband for southwestern Oklahoma, USDA

 

Pennsylvania 

FCC plan could help thousands in rural PA get broadband by John Finnerty, The Daily Item

  

General 

Net Neutral Internet provider gets $2.45 million grant by Elaine Ingalls, Govtech 

 

FCC commits $20.4 billion to help close the rural digital divide by Christine Fisher, engadget

 

Does 5G have the potential to make the digital divide worse? By Zack Quintance, Govtech 

Siefer said there is nothing about 5G that will make it a better option for communities already lacking affordable access to fast Internet. In addition, there is a distinct possibility that in order to access mobile 5G Internet, users will need a newer and more expensive device built for the increased speeds.

 

Broadband could be a ‘game changer’ for many rural, tribal communities, Indian Country Today 

 

Report: Flawed FCC broadband availability data could leave 20.7 million people unserved by Joan Engebretson, telecompetitor 

 

Opinion: Agriculture + Broadband = Fighting Climate Change by Jon Sallet and Lori Sallet, Agri-Pulse 

Sometimes lack of advanced broadband in rural America is seen as a rural problem. But that’s not right. It’s a problem for us all to consider. Agricultural land is an immediately available, low-cost means of tackling climate change. Farmland and ranchland soils can capture carbon, but they require advanced management -- management techniques that broadband can support.