News
Arizona
Slow broadband speeds challenge Tohono O'odham Community College, Arizona Public Media
Colorado
Loveland breaks ground on city-owned broadband utility, Herald Publicist
Five years in, Longmont’s NextLight stands as national model by John Marinelli, Times-Call
Iowa
Municipal broadband utilities can succeed, provide competition by Chris Mitchell, The Messenger
The people of our imaginary community "Villageville" have gathered outside the library, inside the library, and on Grumpy Gary's lawn to talk about the problem of poor local Internet access. Now, they're making it official and letting town leaders know that they want change. It's time for Episode 4 of "From Crops to Co-ops: Small Towns Want Better Internet!"
An increasing number of local governments around the country have started taking steps to improve broadband adoption and accessibility in their communities. A recent Brookings Institution article discusses the role of states in broadband deployment and adoption and how lawmakers are making efforts, but still have room for improvment.
Special Interest Lobbying Leaves an Imprint
Lawrenceville, Virginia, only has around 1,000 people living in the community, but they anticipate a boost in jobs in the near future, thanks to the local electric co-op, a partnership, and fiber optic connectivity.
Small-Town Guys Getting It Done
Virginia Business reports that Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative (MEC) is in the process of wiring a former bank facility with Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) in order for the next tenant to use the building as a call center. Echo World Communications, based in Bedford County, will take up residence and bring approximately 152 new jobs to Lawrenceville.
According to Virginia Business:
As the seasons change, we're fondly remembering past team members from the Community Broadband Networks Initiative and their creative contributions to our Halloween stories. Scott, Kate, and Hannah have moved on to other paths in their careers, but we'll always treasure their contribution to our 2016 celebration of movie monster madness. A special hat tip to our Development Director John Bailey, who pointed out this Halloween morning that "Munis are 'ghoul!'" Check it out:
Much like the the bone-chilling flicks celebrating eerie entertainment that dwells in the depths of our dark imaginations, monster cable and DSL Internet service providers strike terror in the hearts of subscribers…if they survive. Mesmerizing fees, hair-raising customer service, and shockingly slow connections can drive one to the brink of madness.
Eugene, Oregon’s publicly owned EUGNet is helping create jobs and fill empty office buildings in downtown Eugene, reports KMTR Channel 16.
Gigabit connectivity from service providers operating via the city’s dark fiber infrastructure are charging around $79 per month, allowing more interest in downtown locations and better economics for local entrepreneurs.
This makes it a game-changer for software firms, graphic art firms, medical- just about anyone that handles large amounts of data.
“Before we had EUGNet, we just couldn't do this product, it would be impossible,” said Pipeworks Studio Technical Director, Daniel White.
We created this infographic in 2015, but it's just as frightening four years later! Happy Halloween!
View a larger version of this graphic here [pdf]. Stay up to date on community networks with our newsletter!
The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society has a reputation for looking at today’s reality with an eye toward tomorrow’s needs. In their report, Broadband for America’s Future: A Vision for the 2020s, Benton Senior Fellow Johnathan Sallet continues that perspective and offers insightful recommendations for a new National Broadband Agenda.
Idaho Falls completed a publicly owned and operated a dark fiber network in 2010. Recently, city leaders unanimously decided to use the asset to offer citywide Internet access to the community. The vote followed a successful pilot project, commenced in March and completed this past September, which connected around 1,200 homes.
According to the East Idaho News:
Since that time, Idaho Falls Fiber officials have been gathering data and evaluating the costs and feasibility of expanding the high-speed fiber network through the rest of the Idaho Falls community.
...
Okanogan County and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation are working together in central Washington to bring last mile broadband connectivity to the region. The partners have created the Broadband Action Team (BAT) and are working step by step to develop fast, affordable, reliable Internet access for about 42,000 people in the area. They recently released a Request for Proposals (RFP) as they search for a firm to help develop a County and Tribal Broadband Strategic Plan. Proposals are due November 26th, 2019.
In the Face of Difficulties
Okanogan County and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have contended with significant challenges. According to the RFP:
Idaho
Idaho Falls City Council votes to extend high speed fiber network to entire city, East Idaho News
Iowa
New fiber optic lines coming to Lohrville by Elijah Decious, The Messenger
Broadband issues aired at forum by Bill Shea, The Messenger
Maine
By now, you’ve met the people of “Villageville,” the imaginary town in rural America that, like many similarly situated communities, are struggling to find better connectivity. This week, we continue our soap opera saga “From Crops to Co-ops: Small Towns Want Better Internet.”
In this episode, the kids of the community are working on another big homework assignment and gather together at the neighbor’s house to tap into his satellite Internet access. Watch to find out the results when Grumpy Gary tells the kids to “get off his lawn.”