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Emergency Broadband Benefit Program launching May 12, 2021
The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program that provides a temporary discount on monthly broadband bills for qualifying low-income households.
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Bringing Broadband to Michigan: An Interview with Charlotte Bewersdorff & Ben Fineman on Propelling Michigan Broadband Connectivity Forward
At least 380,000 homes in rural Michigan do not have access to broadband. Existing depictions of Internet coverage used by the federal government to allocate infrastructure investments are overstated and inaccurate.
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Joint Letter to Congress on Broadband in Stimulus Bills
Merit Network, Inc. joined 217 other public interest, government, industry, civil rights, rural advocacy, and academic groups – alongside schools and libraries – in a letter urging Congress to support access to affordable broadband internet in forthcoming COVID-19 stimulus packages.
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Hundreds of Thousands of Michigan Students Lack Internet or Computer
At a time when the state’s K-12 students are displaced from school buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic, at least 300,000 lack internet access or a computer at home, according to a partial survey by Michigan school officials.
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“Michigan Moonshot” Seeks to Reduce Rural Academic Disparity by Expanding Broadband Access
More than 380,000 Michigan households with K-12 students lack access to broadband internet.
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FCC Orders ISPs to Supply Accurate Broadband Coverage Maps
Internet service providers will have to provide the Federal Communications Commission with detailed geospatial maps of their coverage areas, rather than just covered census blocks, after the commission voted to change the submission process last week.
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Measuring The Homework Gap
There are numerous studies and also mountains of anecdotal evidence from teachers that students without home broadband lag in academic performance compared to students with home broadband. This problem has come to be called the homework gap.
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Digital Damnation
Panelists point to another bumpy road that Michigan needs to fix: Broadband Inequality.
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Digital Inclusion: #FixTheDamnInternet for Michigan Students
An estimated 27% of students lack access to broadband in their homes. To spur discussion on closing this divide, this session will raise awareness around rural broadband connectivity issues in Michigan that exacerbate the “homework gap” and affect digital inclusion. Panelists will explore a variety of approaches, including community coalitions, changes in regulation, and public/private partnerships, which can be used to connect the underserved and impact Michigan’s collective progress.
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Breaking Down The Digital Divide For Michigan’s Students
More than 360,000 homes in Michigan and 27% of K-12 students lack access to broadband internet in their homes. This digital inclusion discrepancy is posing a serious risk for Michigan students as the state ventures into the information economy.
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Why Does So Much of Michigan Lack Broadband Internet Access?
Like many states, much of Michigan lacks access to broadband internet. Research and Education Networks are uniquely positioned to catalyze unserved communities toward connectivity. Merit, in partnership with M-Lab and the Quello Center at Michigan State University, has developed a phased plan to address the digital divide within our state.
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ISD Part of Team Helping with Rural Internet Research
Students throughout the Eastern Upper Peninsula will help researchers learn more about rural internet coverage gaps through a new multi-organizational collaboration.
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EUPSchools Chosen to Pilot Michigan Moonshot Data Collection Project
Schools throughout the EUP have been selected to participate in the K-12 Citizen Scientist Data Collection as part of Merit Network’s Michigan Moonshot project. Students in grades 7-12 will help crowdsource broadband data to identify where the "homework gap" exists to inform regional broadband infrastructure blueprint. Existing data shows nearly 30% of K-12 students still do not have access to a high quality, affordable connection to the Internet. In order to close the gap, we need to know where the gap exists. EUPSchools will partner with Merit Network, Measurement Labs, the Michigan State University Quello Center, and the EUPISD on the project.
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Fiber Optic Planning Grant Awarded
Community partners’ ongoing efforts to overcome the rural broadband challenges for the Eastern Upper Peninsula (EUP) are moving forward. The Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District (EUPISD), with the support of the Mackinac Economic Alliance and Eastern Upper Peninsula Regional Planning & Development Commission (EUPRPDC), has been awarded a $75,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) for broadband infrastructure planning.
