Promoting locally rooted, democratically accountable broadband networks that provide fast, affordable, and reliable Internet access to all Americans.
This week a federal district court judge ruled that Digital Equity Act programs should resume, although without any of the Act’s original race-based factors, which the judge deemed to be unconstitutional. In response to the ruling in the on-going lawsuit filed by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), Christopher Mitchell, Director of the Community Broadband Networks initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), issued a statement, declaring it “on balance, a victory.”
The $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act was passed by Congress as part of the 2021 infrastructure law. It mandated the creation of three different major grant programs intended to shore up equitable, widespread access to affordable Internet, while providing the tools and digital literacy education needed to help neglected U.S. communities get online. But in May 2024, the Trump administration unceremoniously “terminated” the Act, froze all program funding, and left countless states, programs and organizations – many on the cusp of major new efforts – high and dry.
Read the Full Statement
"Digital equity work does not cost the federal government money," says broadband expert Christopher Mitchell.
What could the FCC's latest spectrum decisions mean for Tribal Nations? Chris and Matthew Rantanen break down what's at stake
New Community Technology Center expands digital access, remote work, telehealth, education, and high-speed Internet opportunities in rural Vermont.
Broadband surge is the result of Tribal Nations’ mission to establish "network sovereignty," says census researcher Jessica Auer.
A community broadband network, we define, as a publicly-owned, locally-controlled broadband network, which can include public-private partnerships. The most common kinds of community networks are municipal networks and cooperatives.
There are more than 1000 localities across the nation served by a community broadband network with many more in the planning or construction phase.
Having tracked and documented broadband developments for nearly 20 years, we have amassed the nation’s largest storehouse of information on community-driven efforts to solve local connectivity challenges.
We invite you to explore our trove of information on the birth and development of community broadband and portal into CommunityNetworks.org where we offer free access to over 4,000 stories, nearly 600 podcasts, dozens of reports, policy briefs, case studies, instructional videos, and other resources.
CommunityNetworks.org
The Verge published an in-depth piece authored by our own Sean Gonsalves and ILSR contributor Karl Bode that examines how BEAD became a billionaire boondoggle.
In The American Prospect, Sean Gonsalves reports on a recently filed bill in California that aims to strip telecommunications oversight authority away from the CPUC.
Three ILSR staffers talked to Liberation in a Generation and The Forge about the many dimensions of fighting corporate power — and building local power.
ILSR's Sean Gonsalves has a new piece in ProMarket on the continuing consolidation of telecommunication markets and why municipal broadband is a better option.
