Community Broadband Media Roundup - March 19

California

Mendocino County Broadband Alliance seeks input on community programs by Ariel Carmona Jr., Willits News

Los Angeles Eyes Greater Role for Community Broadband by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

Colorado

Boulder launches new online platform for citizen engagement by Alex Burness, Boulder Daily Camera

Improving rural internet about more than watching Netflix by Andrew Eversden, Durango Herald

Legislature moving at the speed of fiber to get internet service to rural Colorado by Marianne Goodland, Durango Herald

That’s what happened last year in Ridgway, in Ouray County. Elevate, a new telecom provider operated by the local nonprofit Delta-Montrose Electric Association co-op, won a grant to provide high-speed fiber optic service to about 2,000-area residents and businesses. The service would have reached speeds at 1 gigabyte, among the fastest currently available.

But CenturyLink has been operating in the area for years, so the company exercised its right of first refusal and took the broadband grant. And they elected to provide internet service through copper lines. That’s about 10 times slower than fiber optic and can be more expensive to customers.

Missouri

Senate discusses legislation to bring broadband to rural Missouri by Erin Achenbach, St. Louis Public Radio

Two bills aim to expand high-speed broadband in rural parts of Missouri through contracts with electric cooperatives.

“The intent of the bills is to codify for the first time that it is public policy of the state of Missouri to provide access to high speed, reliable broadband,” said Senate bill sponsor Mike Cunningham, R-Rogersville, in opening statements to a Senate committee last week.

Cunningham said Senate Bill 820 and its House counterpart, HB 1880, would also clarify existing laws relating to damage awards for property owners when rural electric cooperatives install fiber and other infrastructure on their land.

North Carolina

Study: Broadband expansion will be a community by community process by The Mountaineer

Washington

Spokane explores publicly owned broadband network intended to open up internet services, drive down costs by Kip Hill, The Spokane Spokesman

Spokane may be dipping its toe into the high-speed internet industry.

City lawmakers approved last month the creation of a working group to explore a publicly-owned municipal broadband network. City Councilman Breean Beggs, the sponsor of the plan, cautioned against an expectation that all citizens would soon be able to cut the cord with private internet companies. Instead he envisions a system where Spokane would lay the groundwork for other service providers. The councilman pointed to examples of cities in Idaho and elsewhere where public investments in fiber lines have led to lower prices for consumers.

West Virginia

Marion County Public Library expands digital, technological reach by John Mark Shaver, The Fairmont News

West Virginia Officials Look for Common Ground with State, FCC Internet Data by Max Garland, The Charleston Gazette [Government Technology]

Wyoming

Big Telecom Convinced Wyoming’s Politicians to Rewrite a Community Broadband Bill by Kaleigh Rogers, Motherboard Vice

A bill introduced in Wyoming that set aside money to invest in municipal-owned internet was revamped before it passed to favor Big Telecom. The bill originally listed “a city, town or county or joint powers board,” as eligible for state funding to set up a local ISP, but after consulting with industry lobbyists, elected officials changed the bill and it now limits funds to “public private partnerships.”

The bill, which has passed both the state house and senate and is expected to be signed by Governor Matt Mead, established a $10 million fund for building broadband infrastructure under the state’s ENDOW initiative—Economically Needed Diversity Options for Wyoming. The original text of the bill was fairly flexible, allowing towns or counties to apply for funds to establish municipal networks: publicly-owned and operated ISPs that function kind of like a public utility.

General

Cities Form Municipal Broadband Companies To Attract Companies And People by Mark Urycki, IdeaStream

Ohio cities need three important utilities to stay viable: gas, electricity, and water. Now a fourth utility is pushing its way into the conversation: internet access. More specifically high-speed internet access. Where once communities have had to hope that private companies would provide that service, more and more local governments are taking on the responsibility themselves. 

The US fight for net neutrality can help Australians get fast Internet by Dr. Kate Raynes-Goldie, Particle

Intrigued? Inspired? Frustrated? The US-based Institute for Local Self-Reliance has put together a Community Connectivity Toolkit for those looking to create their own community or municipal broadband. The first step is building support among local residents and businesses as well as supportive individuals who can champion the cause. The toolkit also provides a number of successful models and case studies that can be used to make the case as well as provide a proven structure for your local broadband network.

Communities lament 'rising tide' of broadband preemption by Ryan Johnston, StateScoop

If you’re a state or local public sector official, broadband has been on your mind lately — and if it hasn’t been, it needs to be, according to a panel of stakeholders at the National League of Cities (NLC) Congressional City Conference this week.

Held in Washington, D.C., the conference provided a platform for both municipal elected officials and advocates to address the question of local broadband deployment throughout the country. Questions were shared about the direction that states are heading as a result of the influence that large broadband providers have on state legislatures — concerns founded in recent Federal Communications Commission actions, and supported in the written NLC policy goals.

Can U.S. States Hang on to Net Neutrality? by Geoff Duncan, Tidbits

A new bill could finally ban predatory inmate phone costs by Sam Gustin, The Verge

AT&T-Time Warner merger would stifle competition by Adam Kline, Seattle Times

Combining AT&T and Time Warner would create a mega-media conglomerate with the incentive and ability to favor its own content over that of other entertainment companies and restrict competing distributors from accessing that content, ultimately limiting our choices as consumers.

Tim Berners-Lee: Monopolies and Lack of Public Infrastructure Are Ruining the Web by Kaleigh Rogers, Motherboard Vice

Cities Launch Plan to Protect Net Neutrality by Nicole Flatow, CityLab