The federal effort to expand internet access to every U.S. home has taken a major step forward with the announcement of $930 million in grants to shore up connections in dozens of places where significant connectivity gaps persist. Those places include remote parts of Alaska and rural Texas. The so-called middle mile grants are intended to trigger the laying of 12,000 miles of fiber through 35 states and Puerto Rico. The middle mile is the midsection of the infrastructure necessary to enable internet access, composed of high-capacity lines carrying lots of data quickly. The expansion is among several initiatives pushed through Congress by President Joe Biden’s administration to expand high-speed internet connectivity.

  • @CarrierLost
    link
    11 year ago

    I think the poles are actually owned directly by the utility, as it’s a “cooperative” instead of a for profit corp. That means that I’m a “shareholder” but to get any policy changes like that made, I’d need to trigger a vote that the other members (customers) would also have to agree to. (Hint: they won’t, because the co-op will tell them it’s gonna raise rates or degrade service)

    I’m just going to wait it out at this point. Fixed wireless is working well enough, and progress is coming. Infrastructure will follow the people, and this place is growing quickly.