The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) recently awarded two individual million-dollar grants to local non-profit companies for the installation of high-speed fiber-optic broadband lines throughout the southwestern coalfield region of Virginia.

On Monday, January 5, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) sent a letter to President-Elect Obama urging him to include broadband investments in his upcoming economic recovery plan.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a $6.9 million pilot grant to public libraries in seven states today to improve the speed of Internet connections.

Last weekend in his weekly radio address, President-Elect Barack Obama announced that he would be including money for broadband deployment and adoption in his economic recovery plan. His proposals for universal high speed Internet access and his recognition of broadband's importance to the economic recovery reflect the work CWA members did during the campaign to focus attention on the issue.

A first hurdle to a national broadband policy was cleared on Friday, as President Bush signed the Broadband Data Improvement Act (S. 1492) into law.

Bland County, Virginia's goal of having high-speed wireless Internet access availability throughout the entire area is coming closer to reality. Thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service, phase III of the county's drive to spread wireless broadband Internet access across the land.

Kentucky's high speed Internet plan recently caught the attention of The Wall Street Journal, which highlighted ConnectKentucky, a nonprofit funded 90% by the state and 10% by private businesses and foundations which aims to bring high speed Internet to all state residents.

High speed Internet adoption in Tennessee has grown 16 percent in the last six months, twice that of the rest of the nation, which grew on average 8 percent, according to Connected Tennessee. Additionally, 50 percent of Tennesseans now have high speed Internet at home, and 64 percent of the state's businesses are connected, according to a recent study. Six months ago, just 43 percent of Tennessee residents had high speed at home, and 55 percent of businesses were connected, according to the same study.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland spoke about Connect Ohio and the importance of high speed Internet access at a recent event in Columbus. Connect Ohio, a public-private partnership, has been focusing on mapping current coverage as a first step toward extending universal high speed Internet to all Ohioans. Frank Matthews, president of CWA Local 4321 and a member of the Ohio Broadband Council has been working with Connect Ohio on this effort. Check out our video of him discussing the critical role mapping plays in plans for broadband growth and how broadband can be an engine for economic development.

Thirty-two towns across Western Massachusetts have no high speed Internet access, and another 63 struggle with access that is severely limited.