The State of Illinois’ $420 million investment in its Connect Illinois broadband initiative in 2019 was historic in both the initial state funding commitment and the goals envisioned – namely, achieving ubiquitous access to reliable, fully scalable broadband service throughout the state.

As the world changed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, reliable broadband became essential for families across Illinois to access healthcare, work, education, essential services, and more.

To facilitate the growing scope of action required to execute these and other Connect Illinois priorities, the Illinois Office of Broadband (IOB) established a partnership with the University of Illinois System’s Office of the Vice President for Economic Development & Innovation (OVPEDI) in 2022 to create the Illinois Broadband Lab (IBL).

Over the years, additional partnerships to advance IBL’s mission have included the Illinois Innovation Network (IIN), University of Illinois Extension, the Illinois Department of Information & Technology (DoIT), and the Illinois-based Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

Illinois Broadband Connections (2020-present)

  • A bi-weekly newsletter of broadband news and events specific to Illinois. The newsletter is a collaboration between IBL + IOB, and has published over 120 editions and reaches over 3,300 Illinoisans. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter.

Developing Broadband Leadership (2020-2021)

  • This webinar series included content on how communities worked to address short-term broadband connectivity issues while advancing longer-term solutions.

Community Engagement Programming (2022-present)

  • Illinois Connected Communities Cohorts 1 and 2 (2020-2022) 
  • Illinois Accelerate Cohorts 1 and 2 (2022) 
  • Broadband Breakthrough Cohorts 1 through 4 (2023-2025) 
  • Broadband READY (2022-present)

Federal Policy Implementation (2022)

  • In November 2022, the Illinois Broadband Lab procured the services of a broadband management consulting firm to add necessary capacity to meet federal BEAD and Digital Equity Act program requirements, including the development of the Illinois State Digital Equity Plan.

Statewide Listening Tour (2023)

  • To develop the Illinois State Digital Equity Plan, IBL helped coordinate the 2023 Statewide Listening Tour. 1,256 Illinoisans participated in 54 in-person and virtual listening sessions across 20 communities, reaching every region of the state.

Digital Navigators (2023-2025)

  • In January 2023, the Illinois Office of Broadband, in conjunction with the Illinois Broadband Lab, received a grant from the FCC to conduct outreach and enrollment in the Affordable Connectivity Program and develop a statewide digital navigator network.

Connected Illinois Summit (2024)

  • The inaugural summit on May 8-10, hosted by the Illinois Broadband Lab and National Digital Inclusion Alliance, gathered more than 300 non-profit organizations, broadband providers, local governments, digital navigators, and empowered community members. The summit featured expert panels, informative workshops, and networking events that fostered opportunities to learn, build partnerships, and celebrate Illinois’ accomplishments to date.

Illinois Broadband Map Hub (2023-present)

The following mapping and data resources support broadband providers, community members, and local governments in understanding existing internet availability and connectivity gaps, as well as eligibility for Connect Illinois grant programs.

  • County Broadband Map One-Pagers (2023) shared broadband availability status, mapped programming efforts, and created awareness about NTIA’s BEAD and DEA programs during the 2023 Statewide Listening Tour.
  • Illinois Broadband Map (2025) visualizes state and federal broadband infrastructure investment.
  • Broadband Availability Dashboard (2025) presents a geographic overview of broadband access across Illinois, using internet service provider-reported, location-level data.
  • BEAD Mapping Resources (2024-2025)
    • BEAD Challenge Process Map (retired after implementation)
    • Project Area Selection Tool (retired after implementation)
    • Provisional Award Map
  • County Broadband Dashboard (2026) summarizes Connect Illinois Round 4 (BEAD) eligibility, emphasizes past programming from the Illinois Office of Broadband and Illinois Broadband Lab, while providing a detailed breakdown of digitally vulnerable population groups and the latest broadband adoption statistics.