Community Broadband Media Roundup - August 1

Minnesota

City studies $50 million broadband plan by Andrew Setterholm, Rochester Post Bulletin & GovTech

Tennessee

Broadband service is vital for Tennessee businesses, new study shows by Dave Flessner, Times Free Press

Vermont

ECFiber Awards Design and Engineering Contract by BBC Wires 

General

A Broad(band) reach: Bringing the Internet to rural America by John Breeden II, StateTech Magazine

For the most part, large cities don’t have a major problem with broadband installation. The populations are so dense that many private broadband providers will take on the expense of building and maintaining networks, confident that customers will follow. But smaller, more rural areas, or those in traditionally economically disadvantaged areas, may not attract a major internet provider right off the bat.

The answer might be for a city’s IT leaders to roll up their sleeves and do it themselves.

How cities can strike smarter deals with private broadband network providers by Alex Koma, StateScoop

In the report, “Successful Strategies for Broadband Public-Private Partnerships,” institute analysts Christopher Mitchell and Patrick Lucey charge that there’s been a good deal of “irrational exuberance” about the potential of public-private partnerships, commonly known as “PPPs.” While they see a partnership with the private sector as an avenue that localities certainly should consider as they weigh the possibility of building a broadband network, they also caution that “PPPs are never without risk.” The also highlight some essential lessons from the experiences of other communities.