Wes Robinson’s Post

The high-cost thresholds that will be established on a state-to-state basis for the BEAD rural broadband funding program will determine how extensively fiber is deployed to unserved and underserved locations in each state. NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association and the Fiber… https://lnkd.in/e8jcC2Fh #bead #ntca

112 individual applications for four times the available funding. Let that sink in for a moment. These funds are only targeting areas under 25/3 speeds. Growing up in a city I had internet better than that years ago. It is a travesty of public policy that we are here years later still closing this digital divide. The demand for fiber is only continuing to grow. Lets work together and find ways to close that gap. #digitaldivide #publicfunding #CObroadband

Let's talk about infrastructure - with Mayor Luci Henry, Village of Clive. We recently asked members to tell us about the infrastructure funding challenges their communities are facing. Here's what Luci Henry, Mayor of the Village of Clive, had to say. #ABmunis #ABpoli

Public transit is a staple of our nation that continues to grow yearly; however, it remains neglected and radically underfunded. To find out more about transit infrastructure, read our blog post. #United4Infra #InfrastructureWeek https://lnkd.in/eTgj3Jg3

A Fierce Telecom article reports that the USDA awarded the ReConnect program $667M in grants and loans across 19 states to fund the most rural, remote, and underserved areas lacking broadband internet service. Read the full article here: https://ow.ly/CoK050Q0oWC #fiercetelecom #USDA #ReConnect #ACP #BEAD #InternetForAll #telecomnews

Workgroup alert for EV folks serving schools in California: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and California Energy Commission (CEC), are having a joint workgroup to discuss the implementation of incentives for zero-emission public school buses and supporting infrastructure. Senate Bill 114 appropriated a total of $500,000,000 (NOT A TYPO- THERE'S A BIG INVESTMENT HERE 😎 )for the 2023-2024 fiscal year to fund these efforts. If you're a school district, school fleet manager, nonprofit who administers grants, manufacturer of zero-emission school buses or EVSE, or technology provider hoping to integrate with these projects - you should attend the workgroup on Zoom on Decemeber 5th. #electricbuses #evse #electricvehicles #climateinvestment

Online telecommunications publication, Telecompetitor, highlighted the Vermont Communication Utility (CUD) approach in their June 18 article. The author heralded Vermont's community grassroots efforts and the model as "innovative business and financial structures...bringing broadband to Vermonters." The article began by highlighting the efforts and history of ECFiber. "The first CUD in Vermont, ECFiber, began as a limited liability company in 2008. It became a CUD when the legal framework for the approach was approved by legislators. It now brings together 23 communities in the northeast region of the state, according to the report, “Neighborly Networks: Vermont’s Approach to Community Broadband"... ECFiber was followed by CVFiber (2018), SoVT (2019), NEK Broadband, DVFiber, Lamoille FiberNet, Otter Creek CUD, NW Fiberworx, Maple Broadband (2020); and Chittenden County CUD (2022)... Today, there are 10 CUDs in various stages of operation. They serve 216 of the state’s 252 municipalities (76% of the state’s population) and 93% of the residences that were unserved by adequate broadband in 2023." For additional details, and to read entire article, click the link below: https://lnkd.in/ewsAhYiu #CUD #Vermont #telecommunications #ECFiber

Not quite vindication but there is light at the end of the [Silvertown] tunnel for the UK's long-suffering infrastructure delivery and investment industry. An industry that instead of being supported in their endeavour to deliver much-needed infrastructure and services to millions of people in the UK was decimated by the irrational demonisation of public-private partnerships. All political parties are responsible for the lost years of billions of pounds of investments, most of which could have been completed since 2018, just as they are equally responsible for harnessing PPPs both pre and post-2018 by other names when it suited (e.g. MIM, CfD, OFTO, RAB, SEP, Hubs, etc.). However, it is the mainstream media that bears the ultimate responsibility for the half-baked data and misinformation that made PPPs a political football game that everyone in the UK lost.   As someone who will personally be eternally grateful to the availability of hospital PPPs in London when they were needed (and the NHS) I can assure any journalists or academics analysing the value for money of PPPs that when you need infrastructure to be available who cut the grass, changed the lightbulbs, and how much it cost will be the last thing you will be concerned about.   PPPs by any guise are just delivery tools that should be a choice available to those with the expertise, knowledge, correct data, collaboration, and resources best placed to make that decision. Neither the whim of a politician nor the media should be allowed to remove that choice again. #publicprivatepartnerships https://lnkd.in/enX3Exnw