There now is a Massachusetts Senate committee tasked with figuring out how to do that.
State Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, chairs the Committee on Reimagining Massachusetts: Post-Pandemic Resiliency, which met publicly for the first time Tuesday to discuss housing, internet access and affordability, and regional issues facing Southeastern Massachusetts.
Rather than issue a report after a set period of time, Hinds sees the committeeâs role as to study issues facing a post-pandemic Massachusetts and to investigate proposed solutions, recommending or supporting legislative actions as necessary.
The âreimagining committeeâ includes the chairs of committees on education, housing, racial equity, and labor and workforce development.
State launches urban broadband pilot program in East Cleveland
Gov. DeWine at Mayfair Elementary School in East Cleveland
The first state-led pilot program designed to bring affordable high-speed internet to underserved urban areas in Ohio was announced in East Cleveland on Wednesday, April 7, by a group of public and private leaders involved in the partnership.
Gov. Mike DeWine was joined by other state, county and local officials at Mayfair Elementary School to unveil a public-private partnership that will provide $15-a-month internet service to more than 1,000 households in East Cleveland. The program then will scale up to include an additional 2,000 residents, offering internet speeds of 50 Mbps for download and 10 Mpbs for upload twice the minimum federal definition of high-speed internet, DeWine said.
Expanding broadband connectivity to rural homes is important to Texas, a Lufkin representative said Monday during state Rep. Hugh Shineâs monthly forum at the Temple Chamber of Commerce.
âCOVID-19 has really exacerbated the problems that we face in terms of bridging the digital divide,â Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, said. âItâs showcased for a lot of people, especially in some of our urban areas, the dearth of (broadband) connectivity that we have across rural Texas.â
Ashby emphasized how that lack of broadband connectivity has often limited remote learnersâ access to educational materials during the coronavirus pandemic.
âWhen you think about our school districts that were all thrust into a remote learning environment ⦠that just did not work,â he said. âI have a lot of school districts that put up some Wi-Fi hot spots at the school so that students could drive up and download their homework assignments ⦠but by and large,
DeWine to visit East Cleveland school to announce broadband expansion plan
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine
Gov. Mike DeWine will announce the launch of a broadband expansion project during a news conference at an East Cleveland city school on Wednesday, April 7.
The announcement is set for 10:30 a.m. and is expected to address the region s digital divide, the significant concern about the lack of broadband access in some areas of the state that has been brought into stark focus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, the DeWine administration has focused on programs that provide broadband access to rural parts of the state.