Tag: broadband

The $2 trillion American Jobs Plan throws big money at broadband, energy infrastructure improvements, workforce development and clean energy research. Environmental groups lauded the plan, while the oil and gas industry felt left out in the cold.

Broadband advocates and Pennsylvania legislators aren’t thrilled about Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed budget, introduced Feb. 2 — mainly because it's hard to tell how much funding will go to broadband.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine unveiled a new proposal for the next executive budget for the state Feb. 1, including a $1 billion Investing in Ohio Initiative aimed at helping Ohio’s economy recover from the impact of the pandemic, and investments in H2Ohio, broadband, nutrition and food access and farmland preservation.

After receiving support from various legislators, rural groups and others, a bill that would have created a statewide broadband grant program in Ohio lost momentum at the end of 2020.House Bill 13 passed the Ohio House in June of 2020 and went through three hearings in a Senate committee. But as the legislature neared the end of the 133rd General Assembly, it never came up for a vote in the Senate. It never even made it out of the committee.

A recent study from The Center for Rural Pennsylvania confirmed what many have been saying: rural Pennsylvanians are often getting slower internet speeds at higher prices than urban Pennsylvanians. But it also suggested that rural residents are more willing to pay for broadband than urban residents.

Frustrated with limited to no access and a pandemic that sent many people online, residents in Washington County, Ohio, are forming a broadband cooperative.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law a slight rule change that will make it easier for rural communities to expand broadband access.

How do you solve an $80 billion problem? Economists and rural broadband advocates are looking for solutions to rural broadband access challenges, but there is no silver bullet, and some say it's hard to know how effective subsidy programs are, given the limited research.

Switzerland of Ohio Local School District is the site for a telehealth pilot project that could be replicated by other school districts across the state.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still in progress, schools are planning both in-person and remote options for learning this year. For those in areas with less internet access, remote learning presents particular challenges.