Community Broadband Media Roundup- January 22

Alaska

Bill to require Alaska Internet companies to practice net neutrality by Leroy Polk, KTUU News

California

Palo Alto prepares for massive downtown 'upgrade' by Gennady Sheyner, Palo Alto Weekly News

Dean Batchelor, chief operating officer at City of Palo Alto Utilities, said both the gas and water lines were near the end of their respective life cycles. He pointed to recent water leaks on University Avenue as a sign that it's time to act.

Then, following the same logic, Utilities Department officials agreed to add fiber to the mix. Citing the City Council's recent advocacy for a "dig once" strategy for installing telecommunication infrastructure and its general support for expanding the city's dark-fiber-optic network, officials plan to install 2,750 linear feet of conduit in the same trenches that will contain the new gas and water pipes.

"One of the thoughts was, since we really don't have any fiber conduit going down University Avenue and since we're going to tear up 26 blocks, it made sense to go ahead and put in 2-inch fiber conduits," Batchelor said.

Colorado

Colorado Cities Keep Voting To Build Their Own Broadband Networks by Karl Bode, Tech Dirt

Some Cities Aren’t Waiting Around for Trump to Gut Net Neutrality—They Are Building Their Own by Valerie Vande Panne, Alternet

In contrast, according to Christopher Mitchell, director of Community Broadband Networks at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, concerned citizens of Fort Collins organized on social media and coordinated “broadband and brews” events at local beer hot spots, spending a total of about $15,000.

Telecom spent an “unprecedented amount of money,” Mitchell says, “but the voters were not scared by the cable and telephone companies. The reason that’s important for the rest of the country is that local government needs to be more aggressive in creating local internet choice.”

With slow approach, Erie may move on broadband initiative by Anthony Hahn, Boulder Daily Camera

Greeley has the chance to protect its residents with local broadband — Mailbox for Jan. 16 by Greeley Tribune

Loveland council should advance municipal broadband by Vi Wickam, Loveland Reporter Herald

Iowa

Internet service expanding in Dubuque by KCRG News

Massachusetts

Chicopee Electric Light working to offer municipal Internet to businesses then residents by Jeanette DeForge, MassLive

Oregon

Should the Rose City have publicly owned internet? By Emily Green, Street Roots

Tennessee

Electric co-ops eager to expand broadband connections to rural areas by Dave Flessner, Chattanooga Times Free Press

Virginia

Rural Area Broadband Top Virginia Legislative Priority by Alex Lemieux, Richmond Republican Standard

General

Harvard Study Shows Why Big Telecom Is Terrified of Community-Run Broadband by Karl Bode, Motherboard Vice

Report: Community broadband competitively priced by Sara Friedman, GCN

Report: ‘Clear and Unchanging’ Community Broadband Prices Beat Commercial ISP Networks by Joan Engebretson, Telecompetitor

Source: Community-Owned Fiber Networks, Responsive Communities

 

Researchers actually studied 40 community networks for the report, titled “Community-Owned Fiber Networks: Value Leaders in America,” but were unable to make price comparisons in 13 of those markets. In some cases, this was because there was no competitor offering comparable service. In other cases, it was because the commercial operator’s terms of service prohibited data collection.

 

In selecting the 40 communities for the report, researchers started with a list of 400 community-owned networks in the U.S. created by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, then focused in on fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks. Researchers noted that some of these networks serve multiple communities, but where that was the case, research focused on the community in which the network originated.

Study finds municipal broadband is up to 50% cheaper than telcos by Clive Thompson, Boing Boing

City-owned Internet services offer cheaper and more transparent pricing by Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica

Formula for Rural Prosperity is Deregulation, USDA Report Says by Bryce Oates and Tim Marema, The Daily Yonder

Christopher Mitchell, a community broadband advocate with the Institute for Local Self Reliance, said the proposal looks like a document that will be used to eliminate broadband funding, not improve it.

“To me, this looks an effort to de-fund important programs that are bringing broadband to rural America, not a set of policy proposals looking to solve the problem,” he said. “It’s a report whose number one recommendation is to ‘establish executive leadership to expand e-connectivity.’ It’s a plan to make a plan.”

Study: Community-Owned Broadband Beats Commercial ISPs on Price by John P. Mello Jr., E-Commerce Times

Community Broadband: Privacy, Access, and Local Control by Nathan Sheard, Electronic Frontier Foundation

'Dig Once' Broadband Bill Introduced by John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable

House Dems want to give cities the right to build broadband networks by Harper Neidig, The Hill

The group, led by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), say that protecting the right to build community broadband networks would help expand internet access to underserved communities and benefit consumers who already have access by promoting competition.

“Broadband Internet is the most vital tool of the 21st Century economy,” Eshoo said in a statement. “Unfortunately, millions of Americans are still acutely impacted by a complete lack of or an inferior broadband connection. The Community Broadband Act is an important step in bridging the digital divide and will help local governments enable connectivity, increase economic growth and create jobs.”

Also sponsoring the bill are Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.). The Community Broadband Act would preempt states from passing laws that prohibit municipal broadband networks.

Rural Broadband-Boosting Bills Would Enshrine Towns' Rights to Build Their Own Internet by Kaleigh Rogers, Motherboard Vice