Community Broadband Media Roundup - July 24

California

The race is on for better Internet service in some areas of the High Desert by Rene Ray De La Cruz, VVDailyPress.com

Colorado

Could Fort Collins run with the big dogs of Internet service? by Kevin Duggan, The Coloradoan

Muni could pave way to high-speed fiber broadband by Tim Schoechle, Boulder Daily Camera

Longmont's NextLight Internet service wins national award by Karen Antonacci, Boulder Daily Camera

Connecticut

Editorial: Hartford's homework gap by Hartford Courant Staff

Georgia

EMC: HEMC's growing business model includes fiber optics, broadband by Northeast Georgian Staff 4-Traders

Michigan

Broadband expansion in downtown Holland to be approved by city council by Sentinel Staff, Holland Sentinel

Missouri

New fiber-optics Internet service coming to Callaway by Jenny Gray, Jefferson City News Tribune

North Carolina

Macon pushes forward with broadband expansion by Jessi Stone, Smoky Mountain News

Virginia

Logan Tele named gig-capable provider by News Democrat & Leader Staff

As a Certified Gig-Capable Provider, Logan Telephone joins a national campaign to build awareness and industry recognition of community-based telecom providers that have built communications networks capable of delivering Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, which is 100 times faster than those currently available in many U.S. households.

General

Country Connection: Rural residents ask FCC to improve Internet access by Benny Becker, Ohio Valley ReSource

As good and capable as Frontier’s employees may be, Mitchell said, “in our economic system, they have a responsibility to get a good return on their investments for their shareholders. And if we’re trying to solve connectivity for rural America, trying to get them to do it is the wrong approach.”

Mitchell hopes that more money will go toward local governments and cooperatives, who have more incentive to build long-term solutions, including fiber optic networks that have the speed, capacity, and durability to meet communities’ needs for decades to come.

Summit hopes to bring broadband to appalachia by Susan Tebben, WOUB Digital

A keynote speaker at the event will be Chris Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Mitchell said the summit is important so that people across the country can know what an important element broadband access plays in the growth of communities.

“You can really make a region totally undesirable for people to move into or remain in if they do not have access to modern technology,” Mitchell told WOUB.

The Internet ripoff you're not protesting by Susan Crawford, BackChannel

Major tech firms pressure FCC to stay the net neutrality course by David Jones, E-Commerce Times

The backlash against the FCC likely will result in some form of compromise legislation, suggested Christopher Mitchell, director of community broadband networks at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, which advocates for more competition in rural areas.