Project Title: How Broadband Can Be Expanded into Rural America
BASIS Advisor: Mr. Hirsch
Internship Location: Chris McGovern
Onsite Mentor: Connected Nation
Access to broadband in rural parts of America has always been tough to come by. With the pandemic, however, that limited access to internet services has become much, much worse. Stories of teachers and students parking in walmarts to gain access to high speed internet for distance learning and using school bus wifi for hotspots have been told again and again. This project will explore how states in the heartland can create a more competitive environment for new broadband companies entering the market, which in turn could mean better access to high speed internet. In addition to this, case studies will be evaluated in different parts of the heartland that tell success stories of how high speed internet can help people.
My Posts
Week 8: Final Post
Jun 22, 2021
The time has finally come to wrap up my senior project with one final blog post. Here it is. I’m incredibly grateful that Connected Nation gave me an opportunity to work with them in solving one of the biggest issues of the 21st century—the digital divide. Working with a major national nonprofit has been incredibly […]
Week 7: Seeing the Problem Firsthand
Jun 08, 2021
This week I’ve been working on my research whilst vacationing upstate in Lake George. I knew it may be tough to work away from home but I wasn’t expecting to run into the exact problem I was exploring in broadband. This experience didn’t differ too much from the experience I had with urban broadband that […]
Week 6: Recent Developments
May 26, 2021
As you may have seen, there’s been a considerable amount of time between my last blog post, week 5, and this one, week 6. The truth is, I haven’t had any substantial developments occur within my project. The work I usually do in a day consists of reading and analyzing spreadsheet data and making sure […]
Week 5: Deloitte Broadband Study
May 11, 2021
In April, Deloitte released a study on how the digital divide has affected economic growth. This study is certainly timely, if not long overdue, as many Americans have been working remotely for over a year now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are the key takeaways from the study. Investment and results: In terms of […]
Week 4: Urban Broadband
Apr 30, 2021
This week I continued to analyze spreadsheet data for Connected Nation. As we finish reviewing this survey data, the map of broadband in Texas communities will be complete. While that’s underway, I’d like to talk about broadband’s role in cities. Although my project mostly focuses on broadband in rural America, many individuals in cities also […]
Week 3: Telehealth
Apr 20, 2021
Last Tuesday I attended a telehealth summit webinar hosted by my internship placement Connected Nation. Telehealth, as the Mayo Clinic defines it, is the “use of digital information and communication technologies, such as computers and mobile devices, to access health care services remotely and manage your health care.” The use of telehealth has gone through […]
Week 2: Starting at Connected Nation
Apr 10, 2021
I was able to start my internship with Connected Nation on Tuesday, April 6th. Because I just started, however, a lot of my time was spent getting acquainted with other staff members and my responsibilities as an intern. With that being said, I was still able to explore some pretty interesting things about broadband infrastructure. […]
Week 1: Mapping Broadband
Apr 02, 2021
Because my internship with Connected Nation starts next week, much of the information in this blog post will come from books, prior research, and news articles. With that said, today I’m going to be exploring how broadband availability is mapped and why some of these maps can be faulty. The Federal Communications Commissions’ (FCC) broadband […]
Week 0: Introduction to Rural Broadband
Mar 29, 2021
About Me:Hello! My name is Charlie Koepp and I’ve been attending Basis Independent Brooklyn since 6th grade. In my free time I enjoy playing basketball and football, lifting, reading, and listening to vinyl records. In the fall, I’ll be attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison with plans to study political science and business. My project:While my […]