IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

History provides some lessons when it comes to the current push for rural broadband access.

First, there was the Homestead Act, signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, long before broadband was even a twinkle in any inventor’s eye. The purpose of that act, the president said, was “to elevate the condition of men – to lift artificial weights from all shoulders – to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all – to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life.” President Lincoln had land for homesteaders in mind, but his idea of providing all with a fair chance formed the basis for developments to come in the 20th century: rural electrification and rural telecommunications. In the 21st century, that fair chance extends to availability of high-speed internet, or rural broadband.

Some of the most followed news in the healthcare industry is new legislation being debated across the country that focuses on telehealth reimbursement and expanding or limiting the services allowed. Positive outcomes to these bills will help increase the adoption rate telemedicine and mobile health strategies.

However, there are other forms of legislation and initiatives that could have a major impact on the future of mobile devices and telemedicine in healthcare. Some of them are not directly related to healthcare, but will create a huge splash. One of these areas is broadband expansion into rural areas to close the “connectivity gap.”

The report, prepared by the FCC in consultation with USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS), noted that broadband deployment and adoption remains a top priority for the Obama Administration through ongoing loan and grant programs administered by RUS and regulatory reform measures and tools set forth by the FCC. However, more needs to be done to fulfill the Administration's objective for widespread deployment of affordable, quality broadband services to every community.

Several communities in Appalachia will get expert help leveraging their broadband services to boost local economic development, improve the environment and public health and expand connectivity in downtown areas.

The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture and the Appalachian Regional Commission chose 10 communities in six states to participate in the Cool & Connected planning assistance program.

According to the FCC, roughly 67 percent of the state's rural residents are without a reliable internet connection.

A telecom provider that serves Valdez and the Copper River Basin has started work to ramp up internet speeds as part of a larger 10-year plan to improve broadband service in rural Alaska.

Between May and October, Copper Valley Telecom installed fiber optic broadband in 575 homes in Valdez to provide faster internet service.

Access to broadband Internet can dramatically alter quality of life and economic prospects in rural areas, including long-neglected tribal nations. New federal funding is helping to fill some of the gaps in the high-speed network.

If you want to share a large digital file in Lovelock, Nev., you might save time if you first gather about 40 miles’ worth of fiber-optic cables and bury them in a shallow trench alongside Interstate 80. That’s the low-tech gruntwork that makes the high-tech future possible, and it’s what’s happening next year for the rural town 90 miles northeast of Reno, thanks in part to a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

But Georgia’s utilities regulator is being asked to look again at the balance between the cost of rural telecommunications versus the subsidies urban providers like AT&T and big cable companies must send to wire their country cousins. That’s at the same time Washington is pushing small rural telecommunication companies to roll out next-generation broadband.

A federal program provides capital to offer high-speed broadband Internet access to rural Ohioans.

Rural Ohioans’ telephone and Internet service is about to get a boost, thanks to a $1.5 billion federal program.

CenturyLink, Cincinnati Bell, AT&T, Frontier Communications, FairPoint Communications and Windstream Communications have all accepted Federal Communication Commission funding in the form of annual subsidies to offer broadband service to rural homes and businesses that are currently not being served.

High-speed internet could be coming to some unconnected areas of Yuba-Sutter through a federally-backed program.

High-speed internet could be coming to some unconnected areas of Yuba-Sutter through a federally-backed program.

An AT&T representative presented an overview this week of how it could use FCC Connect America Fund Phase II money to create eight broadband internet sites in both counties.

The FCC's Connect America Fund is devoting more than $50 million towards increasing connectivity in the state.

A federal infusion of $53.2 million in grants that four companies will use to build out high-speed broadband to nearly 90,000 unserved or underserved Iowa homes is an important step forward in allowing rural businesses and communities to compete, Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday.

Money provided via the Federal Communication Commission’s Connect America Fund (CAF) will enable CenturyLink, Windstream, Frontier and Consolidated Communications to expand broadband internet services across Iowa in areas where it was too expensive or not financially feasible for the companies to do on their own. The federal program was created in 2011 to foster growth in broadband access by transitioning funding that was supporting rural landline service to broadband service.

Members of a Regional Technology Planning Team gathered Tuesday at the Holiday Inn Express for a town hall meeting. Arnie Kreek, economic development planner/interim director for the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments, told the team he is working on the project for state government and MoBroadbandNow. That organization, formed by Gov. Jay Nixon, has functioned since 2009 to expand broadband.

The UK-based SiFi Networks builds FTTH networks based on its Fiber Optic Cable Ubiquitous Solution (FOCUS) to create a “FiberCity.” The approach leverages the company’s patented Wastewater Fiber Technology (WFT), in which fiber-optic cable is deployed in sanitary and storm wastewater conduit.

The Star Tribune newspaper reports on this problem that's not only occurring in Minnesota, but the rest of the nation. Read the story here.

Smart city leaders from Houston, New Orleans and Columbus, Ohio, discussed their vision for tomorrow's cities following widespread disruptions brought on by the pandemic, economic hardships and social unrest.

Issues around equity, access to broadband and the broader social ills related to racism are finding a stronger foothold in smart city strategies.

Healthcare powered by broadband internet, often referred to as telemedicine and telehealth interchangeably, was the primary topic of discussion during one of the panel’s at the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council’s Fourth Annual Broadband and Social Justice Summit on Thursday.

The “Broadband Solutions for Accessible and Affordable Healthcare Delivery and Education in the 21st Century” panel featured representatives from minority lawmaker caucuses, two federal agencies and three medical associations.

As President Biden works with Congress to make his $100 billion Internet plan a reality, state lawmakers have introduced legislation to expand broadband access to communities in need.

An infusion of federal money to expand broadband throughout the country could soon be headed to communities in need if Congress passes President Biden’s $100 billion Internet plan. The question is what do states do until then?

In Africa a non-profit called Medic Mobile provides the most basic patient-to-doctor care through a simple text messaging system. More sophisticated means incorporating live audio and video communication make it possible for the best doctors in the world to diagnose and treat patients without leaving their offices in California, Florida, Maine and even rural Alaska.

Chattanooga will offer 10 gigabit broadband speed to over 170,000 customers in an attempt to capture emerging tech entrepreneurs.

Chattanooga's EPB, which created America's first "Gig city" five years ago with its citywide gigabit (1,000 Mbps) Internet service, is taking ultra-fast broadband connections to an even higher level with the addition of 10 Gig service throughout Chattanooga.

Legislative efforts to extend community-based fiber optic networks were placed on hold in the General Assembly Tuesday.

The state House Business and Utilities subcommittee tabled the measure (HB1303) to allow municipal utilities to provide fiber optic services beyond their current service area until the January 2016 calendar.

In the Senate Commerce and Labor committee, bill sponsor state Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) placed the measure (S1134) on hold due to a lack of support among state lawmakers.

Chattanooga led the nation in bringing the fastest Internet speeds to an entire city when EPB pioneered gigabit-per-second Internet service along its fiber optic network in 2010.

So far, more than 5,200 Chattanooga residents and businesses have signed up for the blazing-fast Internet service, which is about 200 times faster than most other broadband service.