Broadband News from Around the Web

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Broadband news from around the web

A Broadband Initiative from the Iowa Communications Network


broadband grants

 

Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Program

The State of Iowa is making available $50,000,000 from the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund (“CARES Act Funds”) to address the increased need for internet connectivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


Education

State offers high-quality online opportunity for all districts in Iowa
For K-12 schools that want to participate, there will be no cost for the upcoming school year using federal CARES Act dollars.
Source: Iowa Department of Education

Hybrid Learning Goes Mainstream amid Response to COVID-19
Many school districts are planning to reopen using a hybrid learning model, but with specifics varying so wildly, let's examine what that will mean for students and teachers.
Source: Center for Digital Education

Governor Reynolds announces $1 million career academy competitive grant awarded to North Iowa Area Community College
The proposal will expand access to career academy programs in some of the region’s most in-demand fields.
Source: Iowa Department of Education

Digital Divide

Microsoft CEO: Broadband internet access is a 'fundamental right'
A new initiative aims to bring broadband and other services, such as free WiFi and digital skills training to rural communities in the 19 states where Land O'Lakes has farms.
Source: Northwest Indiana Times

The Bay Area seniors who are left behind by a telehealth tech divide
Seniors are most affected by COVID-19 and through a program by Community Tech Network they are assisted with training, internet connection and a tablet.
Source: Mercury News

Healthcare

Patients want to keep using virtual care after COVID-19 pandemic ends, survey finds
“Many patients said they felt care was more personal, more convenient, and timelier."
Source: Fierce Healthcare

Prioritizing access to care: Keeping telehealth options for all Americans
"As Congress considers additional coronavirus relief legislation, we must include measures to support a responsible, permanent expansion of telehealth."
Source: The Hill

Telehealth got a huge boost from COVID-19. Now what?
Telehealth had already been seeing growing demand; if there's a silver lining in the coronavirus pandemic, it’s that it significantly accelerated that trend.
Source: Engadget

Wellmark: Virtual mental health visits up 3,000% since pandemic began
3 in 4 Americans with behavioral health conditions are continuing therapy services during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to virtual visits & other digital health services.
Source: Business Record

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity competition: CompTIA seeking high school and college students for hacker and security games
The company will host prep sessions for the National Cyber League's cybersecurity competitions for individuals and teams.
Source: TechRepublic

Cyberattacks Increasingly Threaten Schools — Here’s What to Know
61% of nearly 7.7 million enterprise malware encounters reported in the past month came from those in the education sector, making it the most affected industry.
Source: Ed Tech K12

Alabama County Offices Work to Reopen After Cyberattack
Officials say that they hope to reopen a pair of governmental office services during the week to come after a nearly two-week closure that was caused by a ransomware attack.
Source: Government Technology

Government

U.S. House Committee Approves Massive Tech Spending Bills
Tech spending was approved by the House Appropriations Committee. Twelve bills focus on boosting homeland security, election security, rural broadband and other issues.
Source: Government Technology

Public Safety

FirstNet Begins Path to 5G
The board has authorized $200 million to go toward “initial upgrades to set FirstNet on the path to 5G” and “to expand the dedicated fleet of deployable assets."
Source: Telecompetitor

Maryland Becomes Part of Larger Sex Offender Registry Network
Maryland has contracted with OffenderWatch, an IT firm that has developed a vast network of sex offender registries across 21 states.
Source: Government Technology

Stark County, Ohio, Moves Toward Text-to-911 Services
With the new system, if any part of the network goes down, 911 calls would be routed through another location.
Source: Government Technology


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