Rosen Hosts Broadband Discussion with Secretary Raimondo & Northern Nevada Community Leaders, Highlights Efforts to Expand High Speed Internet Access

RENO, NV - U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) hosted a roundtable discussion with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and several community leaders in Reno to highlight efforts to improve and expand broadband access across Nevada. They were joined by representatives from Zayo, a company that specializes in communications infrastructure and that will build more than 800 miles of fiber network through Nevada. During the discussion, Senator Rosen highlighted her legislation that became law and created the Middle Mile Broadband program, which is delivering millions in funding to increase high-speed internet access in Nevada.

"Reliable high-speed internet access is an everyday necessity for Nevadans, and that's why I worked across the aisle to pass my legislation to deliver the federal funding needed to connect more families to the internet," said Senator Rosen. "It was great to sit down today with Secretary Raimondo and leaders in Reno who are working to connect more households across our state to high-speed internet. I'll continue working in a bipartisan way to ensure Nevadans have access to high-speed internet."

"Thanks to President Biden's historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Senator Rosen's leadership, we are making the biggest ever investment in affordable, reliable high-speed internet to help us finally close the digital divide in Nevada and across the country once and for all," said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. "I was thrilled to join Senator Rosen in Reno to highlight the more than $67 million in Middle Mile funding coming to Nevada, including $24 million to Zayo - and to celebrate the state for being the first in the country to receive their Digital Equity Capacity grant to promote digital inclusion and ensure all communities have access to broadband."

"We at Zayo are honored to collaborate with Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in addressing the critical challenge of the digital divide in Nevada," said Bill Long, Chief Product & Strategy Officer at Zayo. "Through President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure funds and Zayo's sustained efforts to extend reliable internet across unserved, underserved areas and schools, we're not just laying fiber-we're laying the groundwork for economic revitalization and enhanced opportunities in education, healthcare, and business. Zayo will continue to partner side by side with government and local service providers to connect what's next for everyone."

Senator Rosen has led efforts to lower costs and expand high-speed internet access. Earlier this year, she announced that funding she secured through her Middle Mile Broadband Deployment Actwould be used to establish Nevada's Middle Mile Network and support 2,500 miles of fiber optic network. She also helped introduce the bipartisan Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act to ensure qualifying households across Nevada continue to have access to affordable high-speed internet through the Affordable Connectivity Program she helped create. Senator Rosen also successfully pressed the Federal Communications Commission to fix their deeply flawed broadband maps, resulting in more than $416 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's BEAD Program coming to Nevada to connect families to high-speed internet. Rosen was also a leading author of the broadband section of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

###