Birch Communications expanded its BirchNet Broadband Internet footprint by more than 60 percent, adding services to 14 states across and adjacent to the northern tier, Rockies and Pacific Northwest, said a Monday news release from the company. It said BirchNet Broadband is now available in 36 states.
Hawaiian Telcom was awarded more than $4 million annually in Connect America Fund Phase II support from the FCC for six years -- a total of more than $26 million -- to expand rural broadband, the company said Wednesday in a news release. This follows recent announcements by FairPoint Communications (see 1508190014) and CenturyLink (see 1508140052), which said they also planned to accept CAF funds. Hawaiian Telcom said it plans to use the CAF Phase II support to deploy 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload broadband to more than 11,000 unserved locations primarily on the neighbor islands. The company previously used CAF Phase 1 support to deploy broadband to more than 500 locations on Hawaii Island and is working to deploy high-speed broadband to 1,300 additional locations, it said.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) created the Kentucky Communications Network Authority (KCNA) and its governing board to manage the KentuckyWired open-access broadband network, said a news release from his office. Over the next two to three years, more than 3,000 miles of fiber infrastructure will be built for the project, which aims to bring high-speed Internet to every corner of the state, it said Tuesday. The project will cost about $324 million. The members of the authority will manage the Next Generation Kentucky Information Highway line-item capital project and the Next Generation Kentucky Information Highway Fund, both authorized by House Bill 235 in the 2014 General Assembly, said Beshear's office. KCNA's governing board will be made up of the secretary of the governor’s executive cabinet, the state budget director, the executive director of the public service commission, the chief information officer and the CEO of the Center for Rural Development, it said.
Windstream's fixed wireless connectivity is available in Philadelphia, to provide a high-speed access alternative to businesses, the telco said in a news release Wednesday. It said Windstream’s fixed wireless service for carrier-grade ethernet and Internet-over-ethernet connectivity is delivered by digital microwave technology, and is currently offered in Chicago, New York, northern New Jersey, Milwaukee and Boston.
Comcast's Internet-adoption program for low-income users is increasingly targeting senior citizens, with Comcast announcing Wednesday that it would launch a pilot program for low-income senior citizens in San Francisco. Since 2011, Comcast's Internet Essentials program has provided online home access to more than 2 million people, it said. In a statement Wednesday, Comcast Chief Diversity Officer David Cohen said the low-income senior citizen pilot program is "opening up a second front in our attack on the digital divide so these seniors can get connected to the Internet in their homes and use it to communicate with friends and family, access healthcare and financial information, and enjoy online news and entertainment." A separate pilot program was announced earlier this month for low-income seniors in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Sonim Technologies received two contracts through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), a news release from the company said. Sonim was chosen to provide FirstNet Band 14-enabled devices, accessories and applications to public safety organizations statewide in New Jersey and New Mexico, the release said.
Seattle selected Rave Mobile Safety's Alert Emergency Notification System as its emergency mass notification system, said a news release from the company. AlertSeattle lets residents and city employees receive important emergency and community updates, by email, text, voice call, and on social media, the firm said. The tight integration between AlertSeattle and King County's Smart911 system allows residents to opt to provide critical information they wish to make available to responders in the event of a 911 call, it said.
Twelve public safety answering points (PSAPs) in the nine-county Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area regional 911 system supported by the Metropolitan Emergency Services Board selected Airbus DS Communications to upgrade their technology to the latest Vesta 911 system, said a news release from Airbus. Allina EMS, Carver County, Dakota County, City of Edina, Hennepin County, City of Minneapolis, Ramsey County and Scott County are among the PSAPs taking the first steps to build a regional next-generation 911 system, it said.
The Community Technology Advisory Board for Seattle endorses the proposed modernization of the Lifeline program with conditions, said a letter from the board in response to the FCC public notice: Lifeline and Link Up Reform and Modernization, in docket 11-42. Despite agreeing with the addition of the coverage of broadband under the program, the board believes there should be one Lifeline broadband subsidy and one Lifeline phone subsidy per household, not one or the other, it said. It also recommended that voicemail, call waiting, national long distance, at least 250 text messages each month, 500 minutes of calling, and low-cost data plans be included in all Lifeline plans.
Charter Communications' planned buy of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable would help the newly formed New Charter in promoting diversity, said an ex parte filing from the California Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP in FCC docket 15-149. New Charter would be able to emphasize progressive inclusion practices and ensure access to independently owned and minority-focused programming, the letter said. The deals would also promote better relations within many minority groups, it said.