Community Broadband Media Roundup - April 3

Alabama

OPS broadband? Opelika mayor says yes, and here's why by Gary Fuller, OANow.com

"This is a go-to-war bill to me," Whatley says of Opelka's broadband expansion by Jim Little, OANow.com

Arizona

Arizona lags in schools' Internet access, but change is coming by Yoohyun Jung, Tucson Daily Sun

Florida

Jackson County officials are working to close digital divide by Keneisha Deas, MyPanHandle.com

Maine

Regional broadband approaches: Achieving scale with community networks by Peggy Schaffer, Bangor Daily News

Massachusetts

From unserved to connected: Leverett's fiber-optic system a model for rural towns by Larry Parnass, The Berkshire Eagle

Cambridge municipal broadband is municipal resistance by Saul Tannenbaum, Wicked Local Cambridge

Greenfield municipal broadband rollout a month away by Aviva Luttrell, Greenfield Reporter

For some Greenfield residents, the long-awaited municipal broadband service that promises faster internet speeds and lower prices than commercial competitors is just around the corner.

With half of a townwide fiber optic build-out nearly complete, Greenfield Community Energy and Technology plans to launch the service within the coming weeks, according to interim General Manager Daniel Kelley. All residents and businesses will be able to sign up for the service, which will only be available in the downtown urban area at first. From there, GCET will manage the rest of the build-out based on demand.

Baker administration relieves MassBroadband of $20 million in grantmaking authority by Mary Serreze, MassLive

New York

Grand Island supervisor blasts slow Internet service, backs municipal broadband system by Nancy A. Fisher, Buffalo News

West Virginia

WV House passes broadband access bill by Eric Eyre, West Virginia Gazette Mail

West Virginia broadband bill aims to spark competition, encouraging community broadband, and co-ops by Joan Engebretson, Telecompetitor

A West Virginia Broadband Bill introduced in the state house of representatives aims to spur broadband competition and deployment by allowing local communities to form cooperatives to build broadband networks. House Bill 3093 also would re-establish a state broadband enhancement council charged with collecting data about internet speeds, seeking and dispensing non-state funding and grants, and making recommendations to the legislature. 

Additionally, the bill includes rules about the use of conduit, microtrenching and pole access, and would prevent broadband providers from making false claims about the speeds their broadband service is capable of delivering.

General

Congress yet again ponders new 'dig once' fiber law by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

Yet "dig once" popped up again this week during a Congressional hearing on broadband. That hearing was run by Marsha Blackburn, the Tennessee Representative with a bad habit of doing whatever AT&T would like-- and who now is the Chair of the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee. While Blackburn paid lip service to the concept, the hearing ending with it being entirely unclear whether the dig once law would actually come to a vote.

California lawmaker Anna Eshoo has been pushing the idea since 2009, and her latest draft bill can be found here(pdf).

Tens of thousands urge FCC Chairman Pai to get serious about the digital divide, stop restricting Lifeline Services by Benton Foundation

Democratic Sens. introduce muni broadband barriers preemption bill by John Eggerton, MultiChannel News

The digital divide: A quarter of the nation is without broadband by Karl Vick, Time Magazine

To jumpstart broadband buildout, let consumers decide who gets FCC subsidies by Jonthan Chambers, The Daily Yonder

Paths for repairing a broken broadband market by Christopher Mitchell, StateScoop

To be less charitable, it is possible all the lobbyist contributions to their campaigns had an impact.

But the market is not providing a check to AT&T or Comcast power. They are effectively monopolies — and as we just saw — can translate their market power into political power to wipe out regulations they find annoying.

Image of the Highlander bull courtesy of FrankWinkler via pixaby.