Nationwide Push to Address ACP Anemia

By

on Mar 15, 2023

The White House, in coordination with the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Commerce Department, has kicked off a major push to get more of the estimated 52 million eligible households across the nation to take advantage of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

Our Affordable Connectivity Program Dashboard is Back and Better Than Ever

By

Ry Marcattilio

on Feb 28, 2023

Last August, we launched the first version of our Affordable Connectivity Program dashboard. Now, two versions later, we're back with a 2.0 version of the dashboard. It still tracks everything it did before, but adds a mobile version, a Congressional District Map, and a more nuanced, complete predictive model to calculate how long the fund will last.

NYC Co-op Told To Pull Free Service From Affordable Housing After City’s Reversal On Open Access Fiber

By

Karl Bode

on Mar 7, 2023

New York City has scrapped its plan to build a promising open access fiber network. Not only did that stark reversal leave many partner ISPs high and dry after years of planning, some local community-run ISPs now say the city is forcing them to remove existing free service to affordable housing developments.

New Bill Could Make Colorado Friendly State for Municipal Broadband

By

Sean Gonsalves

on Mar 21, 2023

Earlier this month, a new Colorado bill was introduced that, if passed, would rid the state of a law designed to protect monopoly Internet service providers (ISPs) from competition.

Latest Podcast

Lessons from a Rural County - Episode 544 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast

From grant requests that have gotten short-circuited by a local WISP with a history of acting against the public interest, to mapping woes, to resort towns frustrated by underinvestment and fragile telecommunications infrastructure, Christopher and ILSR Senior Researcher Ry Marcattilio reflect on the lessons to be learned from one rural county in Minnesota.

Florida Designates $144 Million in ARPA Funds for 58 Broadband Projects

By

Karl Bode

on Mar 23, 2023

Florida’s state broadband office is doling out $144 million in grants to 58 different broadband expansion projects across 41 Florida counties.

Gina Birch Loves Digital Equity at the Ashbury Center in Cleveland

By

Sean Gonsalves

on Mar 17, 2023

In the second episode of our new Building for Digital Equity podcast, Gina Birch talks about how she trained digital navigators at the Ashbury Senior Computer Community Center in Cleveland to help enroll eligible households into the Affordable Connectivity Program, and why working with trusted messengers and organizations is key

Lewis County Pushes Forward with Open Access Fiber Plan

By

Karl Bode

on Mar 13, 2023

Lewis County, Washington and the Lewis County Public Utility District (PUD) are making progress with their plan to deploy an open access fiber network that should dramatically boost broadband competition—and lower prices—county wide by 2026.

Latest Stories

IN OUR VIEW: City Cast Provides Good Lessons for Covering Broadband

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Mar 6, 2023

City Cast Las Vegas recently aired back-to-back podcast episodes about Internet access in the region. We wanted to share why we think these are well done and should serve as good lessons for others covering these issues.

NDIA Hosts Largest Ever Net Inclusion Gathering

By

Sean Gonsalves

on Mar 2, 2023

Digital equity advocates rode into San Antonio, Texas for Net Inclusion 2023 to kick-off the largest gathering of the annual conference to date.

Watch Net Inclusion 2023 Live with Us

By

Ry Marcattilio

on Feb 24, 2023

Net Inclusion 2023 begins tomorrow in sunny San Antonio, Texas. Join us to watch panels and breakout sessions planned for the all the diverse challenges and opportunities that make up the arena of digital equity and inclusion today, from skills training, to device access, to cost, to use in higher education, medicine, and aging in place.

A Very Special Connect This! Show | Episode 65 of the Connect This! Show

By

Ry Marcattilio

on Feb 24, 2023

Join us on Wednesday, March 1st at 7:30pm ET for a very special episode of the show, live from Net Inclusion 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. Christopher Mitchell (ILSR) will be joined by Kim McKinley (UTOPIA Fiber), Angela Siefer (National Digital Inclusion Alliance), Autumn Evans (City of Detroit), and ILSR's DeAnne Cuellar, and in front of a live audience at The Friendly Spot Icehouse.

Making Waves in Baltimore with Community-Driven Connectivity

Project Waves Director of Engineering Devin Weaver

By

Sean Gonsalves

on Feb 23, 2023

Profile on the people behind Project Waves, a non-profit organization founded in 2018 to bring broadband to mostly low-income households in Baltimore City.

$63 Million in USDA ReConnect Funds Head to Rural Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Mississippi

By

Ann Treacy

on Feb 22, 2023

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced it has awarded $63 million through its ReConnect Program to expand access to high-speed Internet service in rural parts of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Mississippi.

Open Access Conduit in West Des Moines, Iowa Brings Google Fiber, Choice to City Residents

By

Karl Bode

on Feb 21, 2023

West Des Moines, Iowa is making steady progress on a $60 million open access fiber-optic conduit system to expedite the delivery of affordable fiber citywide.

Ziply, iFIBER Merger Could Boost Washington State Broadband Access

By

Karl Bode

on Feb 17, 2023

Ziply Fiber has been increasingly active across Washington State, helping municipalities expand access to affordable, open access fiber networks.

Waterloo, Iowa Voters GO Forward with Municipal Fiber Network

By

Karl Bode

on Feb 16, 2023

After years of consideration and planning, Waterloo, Iowa is finally moving quickly forward with its plan to build a citywide municipal fiber network.

Digital Inclusion Practitioners Head to San Antonio for Net Inclusion 2023

By

Sean Gonsalves

on Feb 15, 2023

Joining nearly a thousand digital inclusion practitioners, policymakers, advocates, and researchers from across the nation, ILSR’s entire Community Broadband Networks (CBN) team will be in San Antonio, Texas at the end of this month for Net Inclusion 2023.

Building for Digital Equity Livestream Just Days Away: Register Now

By

Sean Gonsalves

on Feb 13, 2023

It’s not too late to register for our first Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) livestream event of the year. This Thursday, Feb. 16, from 2-3 pm CST/3-4 pm ET, ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative will kick off our Building for Digital Equity series.

Welcome to the New CommunityNets.org

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Feb 13, 2023

Fourteen years ago, the original MuniNetworks.org went live. With support from the Ford Foundation, it came into being to tell the stories of all of the communities around the country that were taking back their telecommunications future from the monopoly providers. I hoped it would be two things: a clearinghouse of news and local-government success stories, and a lasting, living archive of the movement to return the ideology of self-reliance to Internet infrastructure. We launch this new site and begin the new year full of hope. We want to thank long-time readers and new arrivals alike, as we start a new phase of life. Read on to see what stays the same and what's new.

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Reports

The Problem(s) of Broadband in America

By Sean Gonsalves on Jul 7, 2021

In a new policy brief, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance looks to provide clarity for policy-makers by exploring the real challenges of America’s connectivity crisis. The brief aims to clear up a common misunderstanding of exactly where the digital divide is located.

Shopping for Broadband: Failed Federal Policy Creates Murky Marketplace

By Emma Gautier on Nov 11, 2021

A new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) examines Internet Service Providers’ (ISPs) transparency — or lack thereof — around the Internet service packages they offer. Shopping for Broadband: Failed Federal Policy Creates Murky Marketplace finds that locally-controlled broadband networks are the most transparent around key service details. Large ISPs, on the other hand, are more likely to make information like upload speed and pricing difficult or impossible to find.

Six Community Broadband Networks Demonstrate Diversity of Approaches to Connectivity Challenges

By Sean Gonsalves on Jul 26, 2021

There are more than 600 wireline municipal broadband networks operating across the United States today. And while the ongoing discussion about our information infrastructure by Congress has placed a renewed emphasis on publicly owned endeavors to improving Internet access, the reality is that cities around the country have been successfully demonstrating the wide variety of successful approaches for decades.

Minnesota Broadband: Land of 10,000 Connectivity Solutions

By Ry Marcattilio-McCracken on Jul 29, 2021

In a new report, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance showcases the diverse range of approaches communities and local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have taken to expand affordable, high-quality Internet access in Minnesota. It includes a series of case studies that detail how communities are meeting the connectivity challenges of a broken marketplace shaped by large monopoly service providers.

Building Indigenous Future Zones: Four Tribal Broadband Case Studies

By H. Trostle on Feb 4, 2021

The rate of connectivity in Indian Country lags behind the rest of the country. As of December 2018, only 60% percent of Tribal lands in the lower 48 states had high-speed Internet access. A new case study report</a> from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance delves into the experiences of four Native Nations — the Coeur d’Alene, the Nez Perce, the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe, and the St. Regis Mohawk — as they constructed their own Internet service providers.

Wilson Hits a Fiber-to-the-Home Run with Greenlight Municipal Broadband Network

By Ry Marcattilio-McCracken on Dec 7, 2020

Built in 2008 with an eye toward the future and operated with local priorities in mind, Greenlight has a long track record of putting people first. In a new case study, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance explores the wide-ranging community benefits of Greenlight, the city-owned fiber-to-the-home network in Wilson, North Carolina, over the last 12 years.

Profiles of Monopoly: Big Cable and Telecom

By H. Trostle on Aug 12, 2020

The report explores the extent of monopoly control by the largest Internet Service Providers (ISPs) across the United States, and finds that most Americans have little choice when it comes to broadband where they live. In this version, we updated the maps and other information in the report with the most recent broadband deployment data from the Federal Communications Commission.

Broadband Models for Unserved and Underserved Communities

By US Ignite on Jun 9, 2020

This paper from US Ignite and Altman Solon covers five approaches that communities can take to improve Internet access, from full private broadband to full municipal broadband with varying types of public-private partnerships in between. Of all the well-connected American cities (where 50 percent of residents have access to 250 Megabits per second broadband speeds), the paper finds that 8% are served a form of municipal network.

Top Stories

Nationwide Push to Address ACP Anemia

Our Affordable Connectivity Program Dashboard is Back and Better Than Ever

NYC Co-op Told To Pull Free Service From Affordable Housing After City’s Reversal On Open Access Fiber

New Bill Could Make Colorado Friendly State for Municipal Broadband

Latest Podcast

Lessons from a Rural County - Episode 544 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast

Florida Designates $144 Million in ARPA Funds for 58 Broadband Projects

Gina Birch Loves Digital Equity at the Ashbury Center in Cleveland

Lewis County Pushes Forward with Open Access Fiber Plan

Connect This! Show

Recent Broadband News | Episode 67 of the Connect This! Show

Latest Stories

IN OUR VIEW: City Cast Provides Good Lessons for Covering Broadband

NDIA Hosts Largest Ever Net Inclusion Gathering

Watch Net Inclusion 2023 Live with Us

A Very Special Connect This! Show | Episode 65 of the Connect This! Show

Making Waves in Baltimore with Community-Driven Connectivity

$63 Million in USDA ReConnect Funds Head to Rural Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Mississippi

Open Access Conduit in West Des Moines, Iowa Brings Google Fiber, Choice to City Residents

Ziply, iFIBER Merger Could Boost Washington State Broadband Access

Waterloo, Iowa Voters GO Forward with Municipal Fiber Network

Digital Inclusion Practitioners Head to San Antonio for Net Inclusion 2023

Building for Digital Equity Livestream Just Days Away: Register Now

Welcome to the New CommunityNets.org

The Problem(s) of Broadband in America

Shopping for Broadband: Failed Federal Policy Creates Murky Marketplace

Six Community Broadband Networks Demonstrate Diversity of Approaches to Connectivity Challenges

Minnesota Broadband: Land of 10,000 Connectivity Solutions

Building Indigenous Future Zones: Four Tribal Broadband Case Studies

Wilson Hits a Fiber-to-the-Home Run with Greenlight Municipal Broadband Network

Profiles of Monopoly: Big Cable and Telecom

Broadband Models for Unserved and Underserved Communities