Ian Doescher

1 week ago | benton.org | Ian Doescher

“A good friend of mine… calls this ‘the single mom with two kids bill,’” said California Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, about the $15 internet bill she introduced in March. “I always think about the single mom working two jobs — and her kids still have to get online and upload their homework to Google Classroom,” said Rep Boerner.

3 weeks ago | benton.org | Ian Doescher

Jim Stritzinger, Director of the South Carolina Broadband Office, likes “to think of the work we’re doing as an Olympic relay race.” The first leg, he said, was the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The second leg was federal funding like the US Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Loan and Grant Program and the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. The third leg was the American Rescue Plan Act. And the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program is the fourth and final leg.

1 month ago | benton.org | Ian Doescher

The Bringing Online Opportunities to Texas (BOOT) Program, which announced a second round of broadband grants for $701.9 million earlier in 2025, has updated its list of grantees to include seven new awards. The awards now cover more than 76,000 locations in Bastrop, Burleson, Caldwell, Carson, Coleman, Colorado, Edwards, Falls, Fannin, Irion, Karnes, Kenedy, Liberty, Marion, Morris, Newton, Reagan, Roberts, Throckmorton, and Trinity counties.

1 month ago | benton.org | Ian Doescher

Stephen Cox was enjoying retirement in Florida when the opportunity to become Indiana’s broadband director arose. Like Michael Jordan, Cox is back better than ever after his initial retirement. Unlike Michael Jordan, he did not have big shoes to fill—when he came back to Indiana, the state broadband office was just Cox and one other person.

1 month ago | telecompetitor.com | Ian Doescher

“The sustainability of the Universal Service Fund continues to be our north star,” said Roxie Jorgensen, Board Secretary of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association in her introduction of the opening session at the RTIME conference in San Antonio today. Following Jorgensen’s introduction, NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield gave an update about the association’s efforts to protect the Universal Service Fund after the Fifth Circuit court ruled it unconstitutional last year.