Community Broadband Media Roundup- January 15

California

Will free internet ever become a reality in Los Angeles? By Elijah Chiland, LA Curbed

Mitchell says wireless service like the kind Shapiro wants to provide could be appealing to residents—if it were free.

“That would be tremendous for low-income folks,” he says. “If it happened, I’d be singing."

Will San Francisco's City-Wide Fiber Optic Network Succeed? 10 Tech Pros Weigh In By Forbes Technology Council, Forbes

Colorado

Colorado Cities Move Forward on Municipal Broadband By Steve Dubb, Nonprofit Quarterly

According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, which tracks broadband developments nationwide, voters in the 19 Colorado cities and counties said yes to municipal broadband by a high margin—at an average yes rate of 83 percent.

Fort Collins, Where Net Neutrality Lives On By Zoe Papadakis, NewsMax

Kansas

City-run internet service a boon for Chanute By John Green, The Hutchinson News

Pennsylvania

'Outraged and disgusted' net neutrality supporters to march in Philly By Andrew Parent, Philly Voice

Organizers plan to call on Congress to preserve the regulations and treat the internet as a public service. Among other demands, they also want the city to install its own municipal broadband network and will call for universal, affordable internet access, co-organizer Meg Vyasan said on Friday.

Texas

What 'Smart City' Means: San Antonio Launches Committee On Innovation, Technology By Paul Flahive, Texas Public Radio

As a councilman, Nirenberg wanted to connect public institutions to CPS' unused fiber optic cable. The city is barred by state law from offering municipally owned broadband internet access to residents, but public properties including city buildings, public universities, parks and libraries can connect.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin groups join Microsoft's effort to close the rural broadband gap By Rick Barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wyoming

Broadband initiative stands out in State of the City address By Austin Huguelet, Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Orr said she wants “all options on the table,” and mentioned that Fort Collins, Colorado, recently voted to allow a city-run network.

And Trowbridge, who has criticized Charter and CenturyLink for poor service and high prices in the past, said he had already started thinking about municipal broadband in Cheyenne.

General

Community-Owned Fiber Networks: Value Leaders in America By David Talbot, Kira Hessekiel, and Danielle Kehl, Berkman Klein Center

FCC plan to lower broadband standards is met with “Mobile Only Challenge” By Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica

"The FCC wants to lower broadband standards," organizers of the Mobile Only Challenge say on the campaign's website. "Pledge to spend one day in January 2018 accessing the Internet only on your mobile device to tell them that's not OK."

Trump Signs Two Rural Broadband Executive Orders That Will Barely Move the Needle By Kaleigh Rogers, Motherboard

To really solve this problem, the Trump administration is going to have to invest in real solutions. These could be costly, like providing grants or infrastructure budgets for the government to just build this internet itself.

Net Neutrality Loss Could Rekindle ISP Alternatives for Internet Access By Larry Greenemeier, The Scientific American

Slower Speeds, Less Access: The Public Agency Response To Rural Broadband By Craig Settles, The Daily Yonder

There are over 400 public-owned networks run by local governments or public utilities. Dozens of municipalities are moving forward. Over 80 electric cooperatives are running or building networks as well as an unknown number of public-private partnerships. A legion of small private providers such as wireless internet service providers (WISPs) and rural telecom co-ops need to join ranks with the public sector.

Trump's Focus On Rural Broadband Should Include Community-Owned Networks By Robert Seamans, Forbes

Trump's Rural Broadband Expansion Plans May Be Largely Ceremonial By Scott Morgan, KETR, Public Radio for Northeast Texas

Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Minneapolis, says the thing to keep in mind about expanding broadband’s reach into rural America is that a president’s executive orders may be well-intentioned, but can only go so far.

“Rural broadband [is] a large problem and Congress needs to get involved,” Mitchell says. “Without Congress’ help, the president is very limited in what he can do to improve the situation.”

States Push Back After Net Neutrality Repeal By Cecilia Kang, The New York Times

But the state lawmakers argue that they have an obligation to protect consumers with net neutrality rules and that local governments can approve or deny requests by telecommunications providers to operate in their states. They also argue that it is unclear if the Federal Communications Commission can declare a blanket pre-emption of states, something they say Congress would have to do. In 2016, a federal court ruled against the commission’s effort to pre-empt state laws related to municipal broadband networks.