Community Broadband Media Roundup - April 24

California

Sonic CEO: Speak up as your Internet privacy gets sold for profit by Dane Jasper, North Bay Business Journal

 

New York

Tyre residents surveyed on desire for broadband access by David L. Shaw, Finger Lakes Times

Grand Island is right to explore its own Internet service by Buffalo News Editorial Board

 

Pennsylvania

Monroe County, Pa., issues RFP for 'Monroe Gigabit Project' by Bill Cameron, Pocono Record (Government Technology)

 

Oregon 

Local ISPs say they'll never share information by John Darling, Ashland Daily Tidings

 

Tennessee

Private telecoms get another win over municipal broadand in Tennessee by David Z. Morris, Fortune

Rural Tennesseans could have gotten free Internet but their legislators shut it down by Lauren C. Williams, ThinkProgress

Tennessee bills send message on municipal broadband by Josh Cohen, Next City

Instead, the legislature passed the Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act, a bill pushed by Governor Bill Haslam. It provides $45 million in tax breaks and grants to private companies such as AT&T and Comcast to build broadband infrastructure in communities that need it.

“I find that infuriating. Chattanooga has not only one of the best networks in the nation, but arguably one of the best on Earth and the state legislature is prohibiting them from serving people just outside of their city border,” says Christopher Mitchell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative.

 

 

Virginia

highlander-bull.jpg

The broadband split in Northern Virginia by Peter Galuszka, The Washington Post

 

Washington

Tacoma City Council: Click ISPs can't collect or sell your personal info without permission by Candice Ruud, Tacoma News Tribune

 

West Virginia

Broadband bill gaining support could positively impact economy by Austin Davis, WVVA-TV

Generations unite to solve broadband problem in West Virginia by Tina Alvey, The Register-Herald (Government Technology)

Broadband high-speed Internet: An essential service in today's society by Gaylene Miller, The Register-Herald

 

General

The FCC is leading us toward catastrophe by Susan Crawford, BackChannel

What these cities have in common is that they treat fiber optic internet access as a utility, like water, electricity, sewer service, and their street grid: available to all, without discrimination, at a reasonable cost. That’s completely at odds with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s plans for the country. And the tension between these two views is shaping up to be an explosive issue for the next presidential election.

Leasing rural cellular spectrum by POTs and PANs Blog

Donald Trump's multi-pronged attack on the Internet by Susan Crawford, New York Times

If there’s one thing that brings Americans together, it’s our hatred of the giant companies that sell us high-speed data services. Consumers routinely give Comcast, Charter (now Spectrum), Verizon, CenturyLink and AT&T basement-level scores for customer satisfaction. This collective resentment is fueled by the sense that we don’t have a choice when we sign up for their services.

By and large, we don’t: These five companies account for over 80 percent of wired subscriptions and have almost total power in their territories. According to the Federal Communications Commission, nearly 75 percent of Americans have at most one choice for high-speed data.

Want real choice in broadband? Make these 3 things happen by Klint Finley, Wired

Image of the Highlander bull courtesy of FrankWinkler via pixaby.