Home Telecom is working to bridge the digital divide in South Carolina's Lowcountry by deploying SmartTown community Wi-Fi networks to ensure students have access to broadband outside of school and helped launch the Berkeley Community Resource hub to provide hands-on digital literacy training.

Jefferson, Iowa is a progressive rural community with leaders who understand that drawing young families to work and live here involves jobs associated with technology. The community worked on a Vision 2020 plan in 2017 setting goals, with updating school facilities as the top priority. A school bond had been voted down twice for a new high school until a game-changing proposal was presented in 2017. The plan included a new high school and a regional career academy for community college-level classes in several fields closely related to today’s Greene County economy: advanced manufacturing, agricultural technology, health care, hospitality and service employment, and software development (information technology).

Kalona Cooperative Telephone Co. (KCTC) is located near several Amish communities that do not use electricity, which is necessary to power a fiber optic network. To overcome this challenge, KCTC sought an innovative solution by working with a local electric coop to install solar panels on shared phone booths to power the hardware and provide vital communications tools to surrounding communities.

To help rural farmers and homeowners outside of its service territory, KCTC provides Internet services through fixed wireless equipment made possible by a partnership with another local telco, Liberty Communications. KCTC also is using its fiber network to expand operations into the neighboring town of Washington, which has an aging network that has left residents and businesses in dire need of better service.

KanOkla recently purchased a nearby, family owned RLEC with a 6/1 Mbps connection. With a plan to upgrade this area with 1 Gig capacity, active Ethernet FTTH network, utilizing the USDA ReConnect Loan/Grant opportunity to better serve these five communities. 

LightStream gave back to the town of Winamac by taking on a project to provide Wi-Fi throughout the town park. Beginning in March 2020, LightStream installed fiber optic service and several wireless antennas around the 48-acre grounds. With the new Wi-Fi connectivity in the park, there are now live streaming options for their 2020 events. Additionally, it is now a free hot spot for the community that will uphold connectivity for hundreds of visitors at any given time. Having a more connected town park will help with the viability of the surrounding community, not to mention the quality of life of the residents.

Lynxx Networks partnered with the Tomah Area School District to connect 13 schools and district facilities over 400 square miles with a 100% fiber 10 Gbps network. In addition, Lynxx Networks organizes a Giving Tree program, which has provided gifts to over 1,000 children over the past 15 years.