Connected Nation (C4K)

Connect program - comprises community planning, state broadband planning, technical assistance and research, mapping, and outreach. Community planning, also known as the Connected community engagement program or Connected, is a facilitated broadband and technology planning effort. Connected engages local leaders to evaluate their community's current state of technology access, adoption, and use. The program offers communities the opportunity to measure the supply, demand, and use of technology in the community with unprecedented data gathering, analysis, and planning.connected's unique community assessment provides insight into the local technology ecosystem, identifies gaps and opportunities, and supports the development of an actionable technology plan to improve the community's standing in the digital economy. The program is serviced via a dedicated web portal as well as community meetings and helps communities frame their needs around broadband access, adoption, and use by collection of local data via a series of surveys. After assessing the results of the survey, the program matches implementable solutions with locally identified barriers to access, adoption, and use.state broadband planning, in 2009, cn became the single most prolific broadband data collection and planning entity in the country under the state broadband initiative (sbi) grant program administered by the national telecommunications and information administration (ntia). With the infrastructure investment and jobs act (iija) of 2021, once again the ntia released funds to support states in expanding broadband. The two primary funding programs are the broadband equity, access, and deployment (bead) program and the state digital equity planning grant program. With Connected Nation extensive history in state broadband planning, the organization has secured roles in supporting 15 state broadband offices in fulfilling requirements under these to programs. The requirements call upon all of the organization's core competencies and is aligned with its mission to close the digital divide across the country. Technical assistance and research opens up a gateway to educational, informational, governmental, health, workforce, social resources, and economic opportunities. The organization has worked with policymakers, community champions, researchers, businesses, educators, community and state leaders to offer guidance, expertise, and research to expand broadband to underserved areas and populations across the nation.the organization's industry-leading research into broadband demand and usage, as well as barriers to broadband adoption, provides the needed information for communities to make informed decisions. Combined with its innovative maps, the organization's programs give an unprecedented view of an area's broadband landscape. Mapping relies on the cooperation of private providers, and the organization's broadband expansion efforts similarly rely on work with the private sector. The organization actively seeks to engage partners from all sectors in the work of bridging the digital divide. These public-private partnerships allow the organization to provide tangible results in communities across the Nation. Field data collection and validation efforts provide additional confidence in broadband data accuracy and also provide confirmation of or revisions to provider-reported information; these efforts assist in expanding broadband in areas that have typically been overlooked.raising awareness of the issues surrounding broadband expansion is a key component of the organization's mission. The organization facilitates broadband summits and workshops which bring together stakeholders from government, non-profits, the provider community, education, and other sectors, along with other industry leaders, to offer a unique opportunity for direct engagement, planning, and knowledge sharing. Similarly, the organization actively works with local, regional, state, and tribal entities and various sectors to engage them in the planning process by offering a comprehensive structure and the needed support to expand broadband access. Telehealth is one such sector in which the organization is repeatedly engaged. Recently, the organization undertook a comprehensive study of rural telehealth barriers and opportunities. This study led to the design of a telehealth awareness and capacity building project to improve the access to and use of telehealth in rural communities. Another recent study assessed connectivity in rural hospitals and the barriers to telehealth expansion. The organization continues to advance the use of broadband for telehealth to improve the quality of life for residents in the communities in which it is engaged.

Education - a set of k-12-focused education initiatives that identifies and addresses school connectivity and classroom technology deficiencies and the lack of internet access at home (known as the "homework gap") among vulnerable populations through programs and services that directly address these issues. Through policy advocacy and research, the organization seeks to ensure that federal and state programs such as e-rate have the maximum effect on these issues. The organization works with federal and state executive branch agencies, lawmakers, school district leaders, and corporate partners to develop and implement best practices to increase the speed and quality of internet access in schools while lowering costs and improving school network designs. Philanthropic programs: the organization also works with corporate partners to implement philanthropic programs that make connectivity solutions, such as mobile long-term evolution (lte) and 5g data services are available to students for at-home use. Due to the covid-19 pandemic and the need for continued remote learning in schools across america, the organization implemented a project for at&t that distributed more than 40,000 mobile wi-fi hotspots to schools and non-profits that service disadvantaged students. The hotspots included 14 months of free service.data collection and reporting: much of the organization's k-12-focused work is undergirded by intelligence produced through data collection and technology inventories. In 2019, fellow non-profit educationsuperhighway selected the organization to carry forward its school connectivity-focused initiative. Working in partnership with e-rate program consultants funds for learning (ffl), the organization collected and analyzed school connectivity. And pricing data for the Nation's 13,000+ public school districts each year until 2023. School technology inventory: the organization has collaborated with the Utah education and telehealth network (uetn) to conduct a biennial statewide school technology inventory since 2015. This collaboration has been highly successful and effective, with 100% participation from all school districts and charters in the state of Utah. The inventory portal and reports play a crucial role in providing meaningful data collection, analysis, and reporting to state, legislative, and educational leaders about the state of inventory for digital learning and teaching in Utah.

Digital literacy and learning - the organization is committed to empowering communities and their residents with the power of broadband and related technologies. Through digital skills training, career readiness, and job placement opportunities, the organization is dedicated to providing training opportunities for disadvantaged families, new technology adopters, job seekers, veterans, and military spouses to adopt and use technology effectively. Below are some related programs:digital works: a unique and sustainable digital upskilling and job readiness program that brings high-demand technology-based jobs to local communities within vulnerable demographic and geographic populations. Digital works connects twenty-first century workforce opportunities to people who are seeking employment by addressing digital skill gaps and leveraging broadband technology for customer relationship management outsourcing and advanced remote information technology positions. Using a digital learning model, the digital works program trains, places, and mentors high-quality candidates and locates co-working centers in settings where job demand is high, few employers exist, and the cost of living is low. This includes rural and more urban settings as well. At the end of training, workers are provided job opportunities that match their skills and career goals. Digital works has also identified the unique opportunity to support the military community. The program benefits military spouses who need to be able to seamlessly take their remote jobs wherever the military takes them and veterans who are attracted to the flexibility and reliability of high-demand, remote jobs.digital literacy and learning workshops: to advance digital literacy across america, the organization has teamed up with at&t's Connected learning program to offer in-person and virtual digital literacy training workshops across the country in communities where digital literacy training is needed for the digital empowerment of residents. The workshops are conducted in partnership with local community organizations such as libraries, community centers, senior centers and local government facilities.teens teach tech: the program harnesses high school students' technology expertise to help their family and other community members gain new computer/internet skills. The program empowers students to perform community service while learning real-world problem solving, collaboration, and project development. Teachers, community leaders, guidance counselors, and parent volunteers passionate about supporting teens are recruited to mentor the students to develop and implement custom local digital inclusion projects in their communities. In 2023, the program resulted in over 12,000 people trained across the country.state digital equity planning: the organization assists states and local communities in creating and executing digital equity plans required by the digital equity act under the infrastructure investment and jobs act (iija). These plans aim to ensure affordable, high-speed internet access and digital literacy for all americans, particularly in disadvantaged communities. In 2023 and 2024, the organization supported Kentucky, Oklahoma, puerto rico, Iowa, and Texas in developing their digital equity plans.digital device distribution program: the organization has collaborated with amazon and eero to introduce the eero connectivity community donation program, a pilot initiative aimed at improving wi-fi access for underprivileged and under-connected households. By donating eero pros to families through local partner organizations, the program seeks to play a vital role in narrowing the digital divide by offering a reliable solution to extend internet connectivity in underserved homes. This, in turn, empowers residents to more effectively access educational, economic, and social opportunities via a reliable internet connection.