$700M for Rural Internet, New CEO at Starry, Semiconductor Manufacturing Partnership
ReConnect funding will go toward 142 projects expected to benefit 314,000 Americans.
June 13, 2023 – Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced Monday that the department is allotting $714 million in grants and loans for the purpose of providing high-speed internet to rural residents, farmers, and business owners in 19 states.
The money comes from the ReConnect Program and will go toward 142 projects, including fiber and fixed wireless, benefiting 314,000 rural Americans.
Applicants to the ReConnect Program must serve rural areas lacking access to 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds and must commit to providing 100 Mbps speeds to all locations in the service area.
“High-speed internet is a key to prosperity for people who live and work in rural communities,” Vilsack said.
Starry appoints new CEO after filing for bankruptcy
Fixed wireless service provider Starry announced Tuesday that Alex Moulle-Berteaux, a company founder and former chief operating officer, has been named CEO effective immediately.
Moulle-Berteaux succeeds fellow Starry founder and CEO Chet Kanojia.
“I feel very confident that the future for Starry remains bright,” Moulle-Berteaux said. “We’ve taken all of the necessary steps to guide the company through this difficult period and made the tough decisions so that the company can emerge stronger.”
The appointment comes after Starry filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February. The company sought to reduce its debt while ensuring the continuity of its FWA-powered broadband services in five US markets: Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, Denver, and Washington, DC.
Alex Moulle-Berteaux was a co-founder of Starry and served as the Chief Operating Officer since November 2018, overseeing the business performance and operations, network deployment and maintenance, product deployment, customer care, sales and marketing.
Lockheed Martin and GlobalFoundries partner for semiconductor manufacturing
Aerospace company Lockheed Martin and semiconductor manufacturing company GlobalFoundries announced Monday the formation of a strategic collaboration to advance semiconductor manufacturing in the United States.
The goal is to enhance the security, reliability, and resiliency of domestic supply chains for national security systems, the companies said.
The collaboration between Lockheed Martin and GF will focus on investigating critical needs in semiconductor innovation and secure manufacturing, the companies said, adding they will explore advanced and next-generation chip technologies and work to reduce the cost of chip production.
Both companies said they will seek opportunities for external funding, participate in technology development, and collaborate with the US government.
The collaboration comes after the passage of the Chips and Science Act, which provides $52 billion to incentivize the domestic manufacturing of semiconductor technologies for the sake of national and economic security.
