Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Broadband topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Next Tech outlines broadband programs, revolving fund and training in Hays
Summary
A Next Tech community engagement specialist briefed the commission on the organization’s revolving loan fund for small businesses, a local fiber network and an educational Next Tech Academy; staff urged residents to contact federal legislators to support the Universal Service Fund.
Bridal Otuya, community engagement specialist for Next Tech, addressed the Hays City Commission during the citizen comment portion on Jan. 23 to outline programs that support small businesses and broadband adoption in the region.
Otuya described three initiatives: the Next Tech Revolving Loan Fund to support small-business expansion and job creation; a local fiber network available for businesses and residents; and the Next Tech Academy, a digital-skills training program launched in the previous fall to offer training across northwest and central Kansas.
Otuya also asked the community to advocate for the federal Universal Service Fund—an FCC-administered program that supports broadband deployment in high-cost and rural areas—and named U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann and U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall as the federal legislators constituents can contact about the program. She left materials with the city clerk and invited commissioners and staff to follow up.
No formal action was taken by the commission on the presentation; Otuya’s remarks were informational.
