PROVIDENCE – Members of the public have until Feb. 8 to submit written comments on a digital equity plan currently under development by the R.I. Commerce Corp.
The call for comments, which opened on Tuesday, comes as R.I. Commerce furthers a Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment initiative, which has so far been released in draft form. The program draws from $108 million in funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
GYN Health Through the Years: Why Open Conversations Matter at Every Stage of Life
Women’s health is not static. It evolves with us—through our teens, childbearing years, midlife, menopause,…
Learn More
The program is intended to help Rhode Island achieve affordable, universal broadband access, ideally through end-to-end fiber optic infrastructure. Per the federal funding guidelines, R.I. Commerce must also meet requirements that encourage transparency and public participation.
Under the current draft, R.I. Commerce will provide sub-grants to locations that are underserved or act as “community anchor institutions” in providing internet access, such as libraries and schools.
The proposal also allows for a “challenge process” through which communities and eligible organizations can dispute R.I. Commerce’s funding determinations. Under this process, individuals cannot directly submit a challenge and must instead go through a nonprofit or government group.
Residents may submit comments and view the full draft and supporting materials at connectri-ricom.hub.arcgis.com.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
