Community Broadband Media Roundup- November 13

California

Gigabit internet should be a universal utility in San Francisco, says city report by Colin Wood, StateScoop

Colorado

Despite Comcast's "misinformation campaign," Colorodans vote en masse to reject ban on municipal internet, Boing Boing

Sorry, Comcast: Voters say “yes” to city-run broadband in Colorado by Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica

Colorado Voters Strike Down Comcast's Awful State Law by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

"I was very encouraged with the passage today, and particularly with the headwinds of incumbents trying to misinform the electorate," Fort Collins Mayor Wade Troxell said of CenturyLink and Comcast's behavior ahead of the vote. "And also, I was very disappointed in the (Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce) playing an active role in misinformation. I think there is some accountability that has to come out post-election."

Comcast has a lot to lose if municipal broadband takes off by Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica

"Evidence from other cities suggests that a real choice in broadband services could reduce Comcast's revenues by millions of dollars per month," the group, which advocates for municipal broadband projects, wrote in a [Community Broadband Networks’] policy brief. "Competition in Fort Collins would cost Comcast between $5.4 million and $22.8 million per year. In Seattle, robust competition would cost between $20 million and $84 million per year."

Nearly Half of Colorado Counties Have Formally Rejected a Comcast-Backed Law Restricting City-Run Internet by Kaleigh Rogers, Motherboard

In addition to the 31 counties that have voted to overrule the state restrictions, dozens of municipalities in the state have also passed similar ballot measures. Including cities, towns, and counties, more than 100 communities in Colorado have pushed back against the 12-year-old prohibition, according to the Institute for Local Self Reliance.

19 more Colorado cities and counties vote in favor of city-owned internet, while Fort Collins approves $150 million to move forward by Tamara Chuang, The Denver Post

Fort Collins anti-broadband campaign spends $451,000 by Kevin Duggan, The Coloradoan

Fort Collins voters say yes to broadband by Kevin Duggan, The Coloradoan

Voters de-Bruce, OK broadband and pot taxes by Charles Ashby, The Daily Sentinel

Maryland

Editorial: Broadband an essential part of doing business, Carroll County Times

Missouri

Gower gaining broadband internet services by Ray Scherer, News-Press Now

By mid-2018, Gower, Missouri, will start witnessing the many benefits of a full range of broadband internet services.

The community is currently in the midst of a transformation that will deliver a modernized fiber-optic internet system. A partnership with United Fiber, a subsidiary of United Electric Cooperative, is bringing the project to fruition.

New Mexico

Community-led networks democratize web by Mark Buell, Albuquerque Journal

Pennsylvania

Stuck on slow, Pennsylvania renews push for rural broadband by Michael Rubinkam, The Seattle Times

Washington

Comcast could lose $84M in Seattle from muni broadband, new report says by Daniel Frankel, Fierce Cable

West Virginia

USDA invests $16 million in rural broadband infrastructure for James Valley Cooperative Telephone Company, Farm Forum

General

Comcast wins one, loses one on muni broadband by Daniel Frankel, Fierce Cable

T-Mobile and Sprint officially end merger talks by Andrew Liptak, The Verge

An amateur sleuth dug up at least one dead critic of net neutrality on the FCC website by Michael J. Coran, Quartz

Activists target Comcast over municipal broadband in Seattle, Colorado by Bob Fernandez, The Inquirer

If it passes, Fort Collins officials believe, they could advance the municipal broadband network that its supporters say would cost $150 million and halve prices for 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) service to $70 a month from $150, a local official said.

“Comcast has pretty much cornered the high-end of the [broadband] market and CenturyLink has the low end because they are relying on DSL technology,” Glen Akins, a leader in the Fort Collins Citizens Broadband Committee, said Monday.

How Verizon and Comcast are working to ensure states don’t pass their own net neutrality bills By Brian Fung, The Washington Post

Comcast and Verizon have both asked telecom regulators to make clear that the FCC's new policy on net neutrality — which could be put to a vote as early as next month — will preempt state and local regulations that might read differently. The request marks the industry's latest step to weaken federal rules that regulate broadband companies like legacy telephone companies.