Community Broadband Media Roundup - August 20

California

California is trying to pass a net neutrality bill — and broadband providers are trying to gut it by Ro Khanna, Los Angeles Times

 

Illinois

Illinois forms council to get seniors and low-income residents online by Colin Wood, StateScoop

 

Maine

Commentary: Market forces can’t be allowed to further widen Maine’s digital divide by Larry Sterrs, Susan Corbett and Nick Battista, Press Herald

 

Massachusetts

Starry launches pilot program with Boston Housing Authority to expand affordable Internet access by Sarah Wells, TechCrunch

 

Michigan 

Gov. Rick Snyder unveils plan to provide broadband access to every corner of Michigan, Fox 47 News

 

Minnesota 

‘The community is the company’ A review of Spring Grove Communications, Spring Grove Herald

“The more successful the community is, the more successful the company will be,” General Manager/CEO Jill Fishbaugher said. “We need to do our part in the relationship.”

 

New York

Lawmakers irked over broadband updates — again by Pete Demola, The Sun

 

North Carolina

How this small mountain town got Internet access by Lilly Knoepp, Blue Ridge Public Radio

Most not happy with Internet service by Leah Justice, Tryon Daily Bulletin

 

Oregon

Let Cities Work: LOC announces legislative priorities, The Chronicle

 

Tennessee

How to stimulate $1 billion in economic activity by offering the fastest, cheapest Internet by Nikolas Kichler, Sharable

 

Virginia

Lack of open competition for Internet service hampers Hampton Roads | Expert column by Roland Davis, Inside Business

Portsmouth, Va., pins its economic, social future on high-speed connectivity by Skip Descant, GovTech

 

Washington

High-speed Internet comes to rural Mason County neighborhoods by Arla Shephard Bull, Kitsap Sun

Flirting with fiber in Spokane by Virginia Thomas, Journal of Business 

 

General 

Why rising sea levels are a problem for the Internet by Jake Rossen, Mental Floss 

Sen. Tester: FCC's broadband maps ‘stink’ by John Eggerton, Multichannel News

Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, a Republican from the equally rural state of South Dakota, summed it up: "I think what you guys are hearing is bipartisan concern about the maps and making sure that we are accurate and not overbuilding [or underbuilding, as Tester seemed more worried about] and that those areas that truly need the help are getting it."

Court halts FCC plan to revoke low-income Internet subsidies on tribal lands by Jacob Kastrenakes, The Verge

The current definition of ‘broadband’ is too slow and Ajit Pai refuses to change it by Karl Bode, Motherboard 

Sen. Warner’s Platform Regulation: A good step forward, but what about ISPs? by Gigi Sohn, ProMarket

Large ISPs, flush with capital, blame consumer protections for their disregard of rural America by Ernesto Falcon, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Court halts FCC move to lower broadband subsidies for tribal areas by Harper Neidig, The Hill

Speedier broadband standards? Pai’s FCC says 25Mbps is fast enough by Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica 

OPED: Innovation is key for educational equality by Jennifer Huddleston Skees, Tribune News Service

Slow Internet? Fast Internet? You might be paying the same price by Amy S. Choi, Marketplace

Rural healthcare network connections require IT infrastructure support by Elizabeth O'Dowd, HIT Infrastructure 

ISPs say they can’t expand broadband unless gov’t gives them more money by Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica

While ISPs want the benefits of being treated like utilities—such as pole attachment rights and access to public rights-of-way—they oppose traditional utility-style obligations such as regulated prices and deployment to all Americans.

Community broadband efforts alive and thriving in Ohio, Maryland and Utah by Heather Heimbach, BroadbandBreakfast 

A community-run ISP is the highest rated broadband company in America by Karl Bode, Motherboard