Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has announced more than $127.6 million in broadband grants for local jurisdictions, Internet Service Providers, and community organizations, as well as education-specific grants that will expand infrastructure and provide wireless devices and equipment to Maryland’s K-12 students.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced over $266 million in two new funding rounds through the Emergency Connectivity Funding (ECF) program to help close the “homework gap” for students that don’t have access to reliable broadband service and devices.

The Department of Energy (DoE) said on July 6 that it will prioritize awards under a $2.3 billion power grid modernization grant funding program to include systems at risk of disruptive events including cyber attacks.

As state and local governments look to modernize aging IT infrastructure and offer more self-service to residents in this digital age, it’s becoming clear that successful digital transformations rely on a solid IT Service Management (ITSM) foundation – a foundation that will form the backbone for a broader use of service management best practices. The combination of a clear ITIL framework and a flexible, no code, easy-to-use ITSM platform is essential for any organization striving to meet the needs of its end-users with both limited budgets and resources.

The Department of Defense (DoD) has announced that 60 minority-serving institutions will be given awards totaling $28.5 million as part of the fiscal year (FY) 2022 DoD Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) Research and Education Program.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on June 30 committed nearly $159 million to the Emergency Connectivity Funding (ECF) program to help close the “homework gap” for students that don’t have access to reliable broadband service and devices.

North Dakota Cybersecurity Chief Michael Gregg said his state has turned to automation and machine learning in order to keep up with the growth of its security toolset, which has grown by about 200 percent in the last year.

Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot along with the Department of Assets, Information, and Services (AIS) have announced a new IT modernization approach that will enhance city services and provide transparency through broader access to data and continued privacy protections.

There’s no “right” answer to that question. But there is plenty of vital broadband data results in store for the state through its June 21 call for Florida residents to test the speeds of their broadband services, and at the same time contribute broadband service mapping data that the state can use to help identify opportunities for service expansion.

Protecting the residents, businesses, and local government entities they serve remains the top priority for local technology leaders, according to a new survey report on city and county technology and workforce trends.