The COVID-19 pandemic has laid to bare the digital divide in the U.S. and highlighted barriers to broadband and internet access in both rural and urban areas. The internet is essential for accessing information and increasing empowerment. Tech is creating new opportunities for people across the country by equipping workers, businesses, students, teachers, healthcare professionals, patients, and families with broadband access and 5G connectivity. Read more in this week’s Tech At Work.
Verizon’s New 5G Rapid-Response Command Center Will Help First Responders Stay Connected
Verizon’s new TacticalHumanitarian Operations Response (THOR) vehicle will help first responders and the Department of Defense stay connected when coverage can be challenging. The vehicle is capable of deploying Verizon Frontline technology, including 5G and computing solutions, to help frontline workers and the U.S. military communicate when there might be coverage gaps or an out-of-service network.
Facebook Pilot Program Allows Residents in Appalachian Ohio Stay Connected
A new pilot program from Facebook is helping residents in Appalachian Ohio connect to the internet. The program allows residents to check out mobile hotspots from their local library, the same way they would a book or a movie. The company helped distribute 240 Wi-Fi hotspots along with one year of free data service to libraries throughout the region.
Google Fiber to Expand Access in North Carolina
Google Fiber is expanding its network across communities in North Carolina. Google Fiber is also working with the state to provide micro-grants to communities to implement, start, or meet their digital inclusion needs. Its goal is to make NorthCarolina the first state with a digital inclusion plan for each county.
AT&T Foundation ContributesOver $40,000 to Young New Jersey Residents Affected by the Digital Divide
As part of AT&T’s commitment to bridge the digital divide and the homework gap, the company’s foundation is contributing more than $40,000 to two Camden, New Jersey organizations. The money will provide broadband connectivity and equipment for underserved youths as well as help low-income students access the internet and digital literacy programs to encourage college enrollment.
Cisco recently opened its Rural Broadband Innovation Center in North Carolina. The $20 million in vestment will help Cisco maintain its commitment to connecting the unconnected through innovative technology solutions. The Center provides demonstrations of existing Cisco technologies that are changing the economics of the internet and making reliable connectivity more accessible to everyone.
Comcast Connects Residents of Washington State with Broadband Access to Bridge the Digital Divide
Dell Technologies Renews Push for 5G
Deloitte: 2021 Connectivity and Mobile Trends Survey
What’s New in Tech
Bloom Energy Unveils Electrolyzer, the Path to Low-Cost, Net-Zero Hydrogen
Bloom Energy unveiled their Bloom Electrolyzer, the most energy-efficient electrolyzer to produce clean hydrogen. The Bloom Electrolyzer offers unique advantages for deployment across a broad variety of hydrogen applications, using multiple energy sources including intermittent renewable energy and excess heat. The Bloom Electrolyzer is 15 to 45 percent more efficient than other products. Read more here.
What We’re Saying
TechNet Adds Two New Executive Council Members: Coursera’s Jeff Maggioncalda and GM’s Craig Glidden
TechNet’s Statement on the FTC’s Policy Statement on the Secure and Safe Repair of Digital Products
TechNet’s Statement on the FTC’s Hearing on the Secure and Safe Repair of Digital Products
Before You Start Your Weekend
Zoox is using multiple hardware-in-the-loop platforms — a technique that is used in the development and test of complex real-time embedded systems — in their state-of-the-art lab in Foster City, California to test their purpose-built autonomous vehicles.
