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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · 8h

National Digital Inclusion Alliance sues Trump Admin to restore national competitive grant program in support of community efforts to close digital divide.

National Digital Inclusion Alliance Files Lawsuit Seeking Reinstatement of Bipartisan Digital Equity Act’s Competitive Grant Program - National Digital Inclusion Alliance

The lawsuit alleges that the termination of an entire congressionally mandated grant program under the Digital Equity Act is an unconstitutional overreach and strikes a blow to communities, leaving th...

www.digitalinclusion.org

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · 5d

This went on for hours. Did the Chicago police ever show up and if so, what did they do?

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · 5d

... which is BroadbandOhio's very modest proposal to support community digital inclusion efforts in urban and rural communities. /2

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · 5d

As quoted by @neotrans.bsky.social today, Gov DeWine and Dev't Director Mihalik eloquently point out that Ohio has a serious digital divide in cities as well as rural areas. Great! So please tell us how you plan to replace the $24 mil in cancelled Federal $$ for the OH Digital Opportunity Plan... /1

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · 8d

DigitalC, the $18 nonprofit WISP in Cleveland, uses Tarana equipment for its 100/100 mbps Canopy service. Recently added its 6000th household. Urban neighborhoods, many trees. The tech apparently works pretty well. Tarana guy once explained to me it involves a lot of bouncing signal off streets.

Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · 20d

This is what can happen when regulators and advocates have a legal basis to insist that ISP mergers serve the public interest. But look for FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who thinks the "public interest" means network censorship of jokes he doesn't like, to try to squelch this pro-consumer agreement.

Verizon to offer $20 broadband in California to obtain merger approval

State review of Verizon/Frontier deal targets low-income plans, fiber expansion.

arstechnica.com

Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · 21d

(Unless you can find a midwife who'll help you at home.)

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · 21d

This is largely identical to Ashtabula County (OH) Medical Center closing the last delivery center in the county in 2020 and sending patients to another Cleveland Clinic affiliate an hour away. Nurses' union fought it but lost. Dems did little to help. Still can't have a baby in this county.

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · 24d

DigitalC, Cleveland's nonprofit wireless broadband network, is now serving 6,000 households @ $18/mo.

DigitalC Connects Cleveland’s 6,000th Household to Canopy | The Cleveland Model

YouTube video by DigitalC

www.youtube.com

Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · 26d

New American Community Survey: More than a million Ohio households still lacked home wireline broadband at any speed in 2024, and most lived in urban areas.

2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates data chart re: Internet connections of Ohio households

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · 26d

New CYC blog post: Ohio's Gov DeWine needs to either fight for Ohio's $24 million in Digital Equity Act funding, or else find state dollars to replace it.

After four months of silence, it’s time for DeWine to stand up for Ohio’s Digital Opportunity Plan – Connect Your Community

connectyourcommunity.org

Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Sep 6

ICYMI, the ACP paid for a $30 monthly discount on Internet bills for households < 200% of poverty. It had 23 million users, 1.3 million just in Ohio. A bipartisan bill to extend funding, with 233 cosponsors, died last year in this same Joyce-chaired subcommittee. Wouldn't talk about it then, either.

Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Sep 6

Approps subcommittee chaired by Dave Joyce (my Congressman) blocks FCC spending to stop digital discrimination, nixes restoration of Affordable Connectivity Program. Joyce says he opposes ACP $$ but won't say why. There were 71,000+ ACP households in his district when the program ran out of money.

House Panel Keeps FCC Budget Flat in 2026

Full committee denies FCC’s $26M budget raise request.

broadbandbreakfast.com

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Sep 5

I don't know about AT&T's position, but Verizon and T-Mobile have sold a lot of hotspot accounts to schools and libraries for these initiatives.

Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Sep 5

For clarity -- Carr wants to block FCC E-rate funding for three different uses: school districts providing wi-fi service on their buses, schools providing prepaid hotspots to students for use at home or in transit, and libraries lending prepaid hotspots to patrons. None of these started with COVID.

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Sep 2

Doug, I calculate that the companies on your list got 44% of the dollars awarded by Ohio, not 54%. Big winner among them was Spectrum, as expected, with 29%. But that still includes just 14% of the state's BSLs compared to Starlink's 41%.

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Sep 1

Spent the morning productively. Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day rallies in Warren, Grove City call for workers' rights

The event, titled

www.wfmj.com

Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Sep 1

We've only seen low bids so who know? But I'd guess that Lutnick's rule changes reduced fiber ISP participation significantly. In our township it looks like Spectrum and Windstream didn't try.

Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Aug 31

Of 30 states that posted their BEAD "Final Proposals" by Friday, Ohio is WAY ahead of the pack in diverting its underconnected rural residents from fiber to SpaceX. FYI @karlbode.com @dougdawsonccg.bsky.social @seangon.bsky.social @daviddewitt.bsky.social @sportshotchris.bsky.social

Chart of rural broadband funds awarded to SpaceX in the 30 state BEAD Final Proposals posted for public comment as of August 29.

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Aug 31

So 31,000 rural Ohio households that were on track six months ago to see gigabit fiber broadband extended to their homes will have to settle for $120/mo satellite service they could already get, but now government will pay Elon $1650 each to get them free $400 dishes. "Benefit of the bargain" LOL.

Ohio Picks SpaceX's Starlink to Bring Internet to 31,000 Underserved Locations

Starlink emerges as the top provider in Ohio’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) proposal and will serve 41% of all eligible locations, more than any other participating ISP.

www.pcmag.com

Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Aug 29

Update: Took a longer look at the docs. Ohio's list of BEAD eligible locations actually shrank from 114K to 75-76K during the bidding process, i.e. the last 3 weeks. 72K of the remaining locations are designated for deployment subsidies by the state's plan. The other 4K are listed as "Orphan".

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Aug 29

BroadbandOhio published its BEAD Final Proposal "for public comment" yesterday. No press release and so far, no press. (Comment period ends next Wednesday.) Proposal only covers 72K of Ohio's 114K eligible locations, and awards 31K of those (43%) to StarLink @ $1652 each. Train wreck in progress.

Detailed chart of BEAD rural broadband awards announced on Aug 28 by BroadbandOhio as part of its BEAD Final Proposal to the U.S. Commerce Department.

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Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Aug 25

Governor Huckabee Sanders has joined the BEAD Resistance.

Arkansas Releases BEAD Plan with 76% Fiber Coverage, 16% LEO

Arkansas’s $3,889 per-location average compares to Louisiana’s revised average of about $3,900 per location in that state’s draft plan.

broadbandbreakfast.com

Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Aug 25

Arkansas!

Arkansas Releases BEAD Plan with 76% Fiber Coverage, 16% LEO

Arkansas’s $3,889 per-location average compares to Louisiana’s revised average of about $3,900 per location in that state’s draft plan.

broadbandbreakfast.com

Bill Callahan @cycbill.bsky.social · Aug 25

Maybe there should be, like, a communications strategy to fill the gap. Like, I don't know, direct mail to swing district voters? Or some advanced tech like that.

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