Vol 4 | Issue 6 | July 2019

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Global Cities Team Challenge Encourages Smart Community Innovation

The Global Cities Team Challenge (GCTC) was launched by U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2014 to encourage collaboration among those building smart city/community solutions. To date, GCTC has created over 200 teams of more than 150 cities and 400 organizations working on solutions that could be deployed across multiple cities — a key component of these projects is that they are replicable and scalable. These teams will share their work at the GCTC Smart and Secure Cities and Communities Expo in Washington, D.C. on July 10-12, 2019, sponsored by the National Telecom-munications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate. Community representatives and their technology innovator partners will share how they are using networked computer systems and Internet of things devices to solve community and quality of life issues and improve rural health, agriculture, building management, public safety, transportation and more. For more information, see Global City Teams Challenge Smart and Secure City Expo.

Broadband News and Updates

Federal News

• NTIA Letter Regarding the Handset Locking Rule for C Block Licensees

• NTIA: Veteran Spectrum Engineer to Lead Office of Spectrum Management

• NTIA Survey Confirms Shift Toward Online Video

• Global City Teams Challenge Smart and Secure City Expo Convenes July 10-12 in Washington, D.C.

• Connect America Fund Performance Testing: How To Comply with the FCC’s Broadband Network Performance Testing Requirements for CAF ISPs

• FCC to Vote on Proposal for Improving Broadband Mapping

• FCC Chairman Pai Forms Precision Agriculture Task Force

• FCC Proposal Could Boost Broadband Internet on Tribal Lands

• Chad Rupe Appointed as Rural Utilities Service Administrator

• House panel floats new cybersecurity grants for state, local governments

State News

• Alabama: Governor signs bills to boost broadband access in rural Alabama

• Colorado: OEDIT program to prioritize connecting rural and urban communities

• Florida: Florida Eliminates IT Agency (again)

• Georgia: Georgia unveils plan for internet service in rural areas

• Illinois: Illinois Congressional representatives ask FCC to improve rural broadband

• Indiana: Study: Lack Of High-Speed Internet Will Further Disadvantage Rural Southeastern Indiana

• Iowa: Kim Reynolds: Broadband connectivity enhances rural Iowa renaissance

• Iowa: FCC getting pressure to update broadband maps

• Maine: Maine governor signs net neutrality bill and Mills Calls for Maine to Borrow $239 Million to Fix Roads, Conserve Land, Build Workforce

• Nebraska: Nebraska Makerspaces Ignite Creativity in Libraries Statewide

• Nebraska: Better maps critical for state’s rural broadband

• New Mexico: Microsoft, Sacred Wind attack digital divide in rural NM

• New York: What we know about rural broadband access

• North Carolina: Legislation designed to expand broadband access becomes law despite lawmaker’s constitutional concerns

• Ohio: Gov. Mike DeWine offers companies access to state highways, facilities to expand broadband

• Pennsylvania: Faculty member's research shows broadband disconnect for many in Pennsylvania

• South Carolina: Bridging the ‘digital divide’ in rural South Carolina

• Texas: My 5 Cents: Senate Bill 14 will increase rural broadband internet

• Utah: Utah invests $50 million in connected and autonomous vehicle infrastructure

• Vermont: Vermont takes rural broadband into its own hands and Vermont Passes Legislation to Fund Community-Based ISPs to Rural Areas

• Virginia: Virginia takes big steps on rural broadband

• Washington: Commerce bosses push better broadband in region

Public Safety / FirstNet

• FirstNet Connects Rural Responders During Search and Rescue Exercises

• FirstNet: From Dots and Dashes to Streaming Video

• Regional Engagement Focuses on Public Safety’s Needs

• Blazing a Path Forward to Advance, Grow FirstNet

Federal Funding

• USDA Receives Applications for More Than $635 Million in Loan-Grant Combination Funds in the First Round of the ReConnect Pilot Program

• USDA Announces 47 Rural Communities and Regions that will Receive Technical Assistance to Help Build Long-Term Economic Growth

• FCC Authorizes $166.8 Million to Expand Rural Broadband in 22 States

• NTIA Releases Comprehensive Guide to Federal Broadband Funding

• HUD/ConnectHomeUSA: The application for the 2019 cohort of ConnectHomeUSA is now open

Digital Equity

• California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Broadband Adoption Gap Analysis

• Pew Research Center: Mobile Technology and Home Broadband 2019

• National Digital Inclusion Alliance: Smart Cities and Digital Equity

• Learning Across Boundaries: How Parents and Teachers are Bridging Learning Across Settings

• Six Ways Northwest Natives are Using Tech to Save Their Languages

• Nebraska Makerspaces Ignite Creativity in Libraries Statewide

General News

• Why you should care about better fiber optics

• Better Broadband Lowers Unemployment Rates, Study Says

• The 'Homework Gap': At least 1/4 of Tennessee Students Lack Home Internet, Even More in Rural Districts

• Unleashing Broadband on Rural America Leads to Nearly $65 Billion in Economic Benefits Annually

• Pew Research Center: Mobile Technology and Home Broadband 2019

• AEI: Filling America’s broadband gaps: The LIFT America Act

• Vice: Better Broadband Lowers Unemployment Rates, Study Says

• The Future Of Food Needs To Focus On Bringing Broadband To Rural Communities, Says Land of Lakes CEO Beth Ford

• Starry aims to bring its $50, 200Mbps broadband to 25 more US states

• Next Century Cities Announces New Executive Director

Resources

• Rural Electric Cooperatives: Pole Attachment Policies and Issues

• General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Real Property Public Data Set

• General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Real Property Map

• Congressional Research Service (CRS): Broadband Deployment: Status and Federal Program

Events

NTIA Events

July 10-12, 2019
The Global Cities Team Challenge (GCTC) Smart and Secure Cities and Communities Expo, co-hosted by U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), and NTIA, Washington, D.C. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Jean Rice.

July 17, 2019
BroadbandUSA Practical Broadband Conversations Webinar Series: FirstNet Deployment - Status of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network
Time: 2:00 PM Eastern
In 2012, Congress created the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) to develop, build and operate a nationwide, broadband network that equips first responders to save lives and protect U.S. communities. FirstNet has made significant strides in delivering on this mandate. Today, nearly 7,250 agencies utilize more than 600,000 connections on the FirstNet network. In addition, over 100 devices with public safety-focused features and functions are approved and certified for use on the FirstNet network. The webinar will provide an overview of FirstNet's accomplishments to date, as well as provide insights from a first-responder network user.
Speakers:

• Dave Buchanan, Executive Director of Public Safety Advocacy, FirstNet

• Doug Clark, Assistant Vice President, FirstNet Program, AT&T Public Safety Solution

Moderator:

• Scott Woods, Manager of Technical Assistance, NTIA, BroadbandUSA

Click here to register

July 31-Aug 1 2019
State Broadband Leaders Network Summer Meeting, hosted by BroadbandUSA and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Kansas City, KS

Events of Interest

July 8, 2019
Digital Equity Summit: Bridging the Learning @ Home Gap, Richmond, VA. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Karen Perry.

July 10-12, 2019
Smart and Secure Cities and Communities Challenge (GCTC-SC3) Expo, Co-hosted by NIST and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), Washington, DC

July 10, 2019
Smart Cities and Communities Leadership Forum, Washington, DC. Hosted by NTIA, NIST, NSF and DHS S&T.

July 31, 2019
New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) New Mexico Regulation Rural Networks Conference, Farmington, NM. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Douglas Kinkoph.

Aug. 5 – 8, 2019
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) 2019 Legislative Summit, Nashville, TN. BroadbandUSA Attendee: Katherine Bates

Aug. 19, 2019
16th Annual Kentucky Cable and Telecommunications Conference, Lexington, KY. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Aimee Meacham

Aug. 21, 2019
Utilities Technology Council (UTC) Broadband Workshop, Kansas City, MO, BroadbandUSA speaker, Karen Perry

Aug. 28, 2019
USDA ReConnect Broadband Workshop, Independence, OR. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Karen Perry.