Community Broadband Media Roundup - January 21

Alabama 

New map illustrates state’s rural broadband issue by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Colorado

Fiber optic line, now being installed, expected to bring high speed Internet to rural Ouray County by Leslie Brown, Montrose Press 

Georgia

Georgia designates Evans County as broadband ready community by Juile Braly, The Claxton Enterprise

Massachusetts

Massachusetts pursues its own route to broadband expansion by Jed Pressgrove, Government Technology 

With the new broadband system, parents in Montgomery can work from home and students can do their schoolwork without interruption. Firefighters in training can access up-to-date digital materials. Town administrators can start storing and transmitting forms electronically. Emergency managers can share natural disaster information and receive assistance from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

North Dakota 

Minot selectmen review broadband expansion report by Eriks Peterson, Sun Journal 

Pennsylvania 

Pennsylvania counties eye broadband connectivity study by Jeff Himler, Government Technology 

Tennessee 

How Chattanooga, Tenn. is leveraging digital inclusion to open its innovation district to all by Geoff Millener, Brookings

Given the challenges confronting emerging innovation economies, district leaders are faced with a difficult, but important question: How can we advance place-based, innovation-driven economic development while ensuring more people reap the benefits?

General 

Digital skills and broadband adoption, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society 

Can the digital divide finally be bridged? by Shrihari Pandit, Route Fifty 

A focus on enabling fiber pathways—rights of ways, conduits and dark fiber—is the best framework to accelerate deployment and effectuate digital equity. One way to do this is when cities’ and states are already-planning road construction to allow private industry rights of way access to install fiber. Not only does this allow the infrastructure to be available for future projects, it enables private providers to lease infrastructure to states and municipalities and bridge the "last mile."