SPECIAL FEATURE: Rural California Counties have a Digital Equity Problem

With billions of dollars flowing from both the State and Federal government for broadband deployment, the need for Digital Equity planning has come to the forefront. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) requires States, in order to draw done $42 billion in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding, to have a plan for ensuring historically disenfranchised populations, including residents in rural areas, have access to reliable highspeed connectivity. In this article, Nevada County Chief Information Officer and Barbed Wire guest writer Steve Monaghan outlines what rural counties need to know about Digital Equity planning in 2022. Read the Article Here