Community Broadband Media Roundup - February 11

Arkansas

Senate committee approves rural broadband bill, KARK 

 

Colorado

Fort Collins municipal broadband will offer first service in August, Reporter-Herald

 

Iowa

VMEU holds last meeting before the final vote concerning broadband by Valerie Close, Vinton Today

 

Indiana

Foundation partners fund study by Bill Rethlake, Daily News

 

Mississippi

Why rural broadband could take years to implement by William Moore, Daily Journal

 

Nebraska

Midlands Voices: Broadband is a basic service for all Nebraskans by Johnathan Hladik, Omaha World-Herald 

We are often contacted by families who lack broadband access but live in a Census block that the state marks as served. For these forgotten households, there is little hope for change. Providers lack incentive to extend service their way. Limited state resources are spent elsewhere.

Lack of broadband in rural Nebraska creating a 'digital divide' by Chris Dunker, Lincoln Journal Star

 

North Carolina

Trainees see the light: Greenlight and Wilson Community College partner in fiber optics class by Drew C. Wilson, Wilson Times

"This is just a huge moment for the city of Wilson,” Rice said. “They have the state’s first fiber-to-the-home, community-owned gigabit network. They are all about fiber, so what a great opportunity to start establishing Wilson as the fiber experts for the state and maybe beyond the state."

 

General 

 

USDA ReConnect rural broadband deadlines extended by Phil Britt, Telecompetitor

We need a national rural broadband plan by Christopher Ali, New York Times

USDA launches rural broadband toolkit to boost expansion by Stephen Huba, The Tribune-Review 

Google Fiber's secret weapon in its gigabit comeback has failed by Jason Hiner, CNET

5G can’t fix America’s broadband problems by Karl Bode, The Verge 

“Absolutely no way is wireless service ever going to be competitive with high-speed wireline services,” Ernesto Falcon, legislative counsel at the EFF, told The Verge. “The fastest speeds the industry is boasting about for the future of wireless has already been surpassed by fiber to the home years ago.”

Rural download speeds are worse than reported, Microsoft study says by Roberto Gallardo, The Daily Yonder

Rural electric cooperatives: The digital divide’s salvation by Alyson Moore, GovTech

FCC struggles to convince judge that broadband isn’t “telecommunications” by Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica