Entry Details

About the Entry

Category: 
Online > Web Microsite/Special Section (Non-Trade Show/Conference) > Pacific

Title of entry: 
Broadband Nation

Issue or Publication date:
not applicable

Publication name: 
Telecompetitor

Publishing/parent company: 
Pivot Group

View Website home page:
telecompetitor.com

Description of the enterprising work that went into this entry and its significance or impact on readers:

Telecompetitor is a news website focused on the telecom and broadband internet industry. Our primary readers are broadband providers, including telecom companies, cable companies, fixed wireless internet providers, satellite broadband providers, and electric cooperatives that offer broadband.

In 2023, we launched a special section of the website called Broadband Nation that is focused on various activities supporting an important goal that the U.S. has set -- to make high-speed broadband available to everyone nationwide.

The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the importance of reaching this goal. As so much activity moved online, areas lacking good internet connectivity experienced numerous problems, such as students not being able to attend school virtually.

As a result, the U.S. government has made an unprecedented level of funding available to cover some of the costs of deploying high-speed broadband to rural areas where the cost to do so is so high that no company has been able to justify the investment. These funding programs are of great interest to Telecompetitor’s broadband provider readers, many of whom operate in rural areas. These companies would be excellent candidates to receive funding for additional buildouts.

Many broadband funding programs are being administered by the states, using money awarded to them by the federal government. The biggest of the federal programs is the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, but there are others as well. Each state establishes its own programs and sets its own criteria for making the awards, within guidelines established by federal agencies.

Broadband Nation has a landing page with information about the federal programs and links to related Telecompetitor coverage. It also has a map and drop-down menu to enable providers to select individual states and see information about funding programs for those states, including links to the state’s broadband office and to rules for various awards programs and funding awardees.

Each state page also includes links to Telecompetitor’s previous coverage pertinent to the state.

On Telecompetitor’s home page, there is a prominent link to Broadband Nation, and Broadband Nation is frequently updated as we continue to follow developments in each state.

It’s an important resource for broadband provider readers because it saves them time in finding needed funding information on state websites. Telecompetitor also has been diligent in covering announcements of state broadband funding awards, because virtually any provider in a state will be interested to learn which other providers received funding, how much and where the awardees will deploy broadband.

Please note: We are targeting a redesign of our website for early February 2024. If you look at Broadband Nation after that date, it may look somewhat different from the image upload above. But the format and individual resources on the site will not change.

Links to entry URLs

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Entry URL(s), if applicable:
Please enter a URL that will direct judges to the entry: 
https://www.telecompetitor.com/broadband-nation/