While I was in Danville, Virginia, for the Broadband Community Magazine Economic Development Conference, I had a chance to sit down with Jason Grey, nDanville Network Manager. This interview is our 22nd episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast.

Jason and I met five years ago when I first visited Danville to learn about its municipal open access fiber-optic network. Danville is located in southern Virginia and was hit hard by the demise of tobacco and the loss of manufacturing jobs. But the municipal utility loaned itself enough capital to build a fiber network connecting the schools -- by provisioning its own service, they were able to pay back the loan, make contributions to the general fund, and still have enough money left over to expand the network to connect local businesses.

The network has been a tremendous success, attracting new employers and helping existing businesses to expand. And the network is just starting to connect residents in a few neighborhoods. Read our stories about nDanville.

Read the transcript from this episode here.

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Thanks to mojo monkeys for the music, licensed using Creative Commons.

Community Broadband Networks have a very good track record in creating jobs, and we have just released a fact sheet [pdf] that collects some exciting success stories -- where a publicly owned network attracted new businesses or helped existing businesses to thrive.

Though the telecommunications needs of local businesses have swelled dramatically in recent years, the DSL and cable networks have not been able to keep up. Businesses are often stuck between a connection that does not meet their needs and a connection they cannot afford -- but local, publicly owned networks have stepped in to provide the ultra-fast, super reliable services at affordable prices.

This fact sheet discusses the jobs that were enabled by public investments in Chanute, Kansas; Chattanooga and Tullahoma, Tennessee; Lafayette, Louisiana; Bristol, Martinsville, and Danville, Virginia; and Springfield, Missouri.

This should be a great resource for those educating their community about the importance of having a network that is directly accountable to the community. Hand it out, include it in conference materials, email it to legislators, whatever.

We are developing additional fact sheets, but are always interested in what would be most helpful to you, so don't be afraid to tell us.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance has just released a new case study on community broadband -- this one examines how Chanute, Kansas, built its own broadband network over a period of many years without borrowing.

Download a PDF of Chanute's Gig: One Rural Kansas Community's Tradition of Innovation Led to a Gigabit and Ubiquitous Wireless Coverage here.

Local businesses are strong supporters of the network. From Ash Grove Cement to MagnaTech, business clients have remained satisfied subscribers. The network continues to encourage economic development and provides connectivity options that attract high bandwidth employers. The network generates $600,000 per year for Chanute’s Electric Utility, 5 percent of which goes to the general fund as a franchising fee each year.

Author Christopher Mitchell, Director of the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, believes Chanute can offer valuable lessons to other communities across the United States. “This community has demonstrated that communities can meet their own telecommunications needs with smart public investments — they did not wait for national corporations to solve their problems.”

City Manager J.D. Lester refers to municipal broadband as “the great equalizer for Rural America,” saying: “You don’t have to live in Kansas City to work there.”

The City also operates a 4G WiMAX network that connects public safety and is used to feed Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the community.

Local leaders plan to expand the network to offer access to all residents and businesses in the future as extending it become financially feasible. As it expands, it will offer the potential for smart-grid type investments in the gas, water, and electrical utilities — all of which are owned and operated by the local government.

One of the key lessons other communities can take away from this case study is how planning and prioritizing community investments in broadband can greatly benefit the community, especially local businesses. Chanute took advantage of several opportunities to expand what started as a very basic network over the course of many years at low cost.

On September 11th, we interviewed Todd Murren, Director of SpringNet, for our Community Bradband Bits podcast. Todd told us the story of how travel giant Expedia, chose Springfield, Missouri, as the location for their call center and how SpringNet services them with its high capacity network.

Expedia originally planned on working with a large national carrier to provide connectivity. When it was time to seal the deal, however, promises were broken - the telecommunications company revealed it would not be able to provide the needed bandwidth after all. Expedia almost walked away from Springfield. Thanks to SpringNet, however, and its 350 fiber miles and first class business services, Expedia stayed. SpringNet saved 400 new local jobs.

Todd gave us more examples of how SpringNet has contributed to the local economy as it serves over 200 business clients. In addition to these examples of how SpringNet directly influences the local economy, keep in mind the positive ripple effect. Here a quick list from Todd:

JMark Business Solutions  – a local managed services company that SpringNet has assisted in their rapid growth and success.
 
John Deere Remanufactured  – [SpringNet] participated in attracting of this global company to select Southwest Missouri as the location for a new manufacturing facility.
 
Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation – participated in the expansion plans of this local business at multiple new manufacturing sites.
 
Sunrise Media Partners – participated in the expansion plans of this local call center business.
 
Corporate Technologies Advantage – participated in the expansion plans of this local call center business.
 
Mercy Orthopedic Hospital - participated in the expansion plans of this major regional healthcare provider in the...