In episode 320 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, aired on August 28th, we shared news about an opportunity regarding funding local Internet network infrastructure. Jase Wilson and Lindsey Brannon of Neighborly announced that the online investment platform had recently launched the Neighborly Community Broadband Accelerator. Applications to participate in the program close on September 28th, so we want to encourage local communities, Internet Service Providers, or community advocates interested in new ways to develop better local connectivity to check out the program.

More Than Money

For a quick recap, Neighborly is a technology company that provides an online investment platform to give individuals and entities the ability to invest in projects funded with municipal bonds. The projects are publicly owned and centered on improving the quality of life on the local level. Project areas include transportation infrastructure, schools and libraries, housing, and utilities. The accelerator program specifically aims to help local communities develop their own open access municipal networks to improve connectivity and encourage competition for broadband on the local level.

As Jase and Lindsey described in our interview, the numerous moving pieces associated with developing a fiber optic municipal network create a layered and complex project; a key element is financing. While it’s often left as a later consideration — one that makes or breaks the project — chances of success improve when community leaders address funding early and throughout projects development. 

One of the goals of the Accelerator Program is to help local communities interweave funding throughout the process. The program also provides additional resources throughout the process to help ease broadband network development. Applicants accepted to the program pay no fee and receive:

• Tools to map, multiply & accelerate community engagement, including demand aggregation technology and marketing collateral to build a grassroots movement
• Education sessions with leading experts who will share best practices for generating local support, working with civic leaders, overcoming legislative...

Plenty of local communities are interested in the possibilities of creating publicly owned Internet infrastructure but pause when it comes to funding. This week on the podcast, Christopher interviews Jase Wilson, CEO, and Lindsey Brannon, Head of Public Finance, from Neighborly. The firm is working with local communities and using an innovative approach to financing publicly owned infrastructure projects, including broadband networks.

Neighborly provides an online investment platform that allows individuals to invest in projects funded through municipal bonds. In addition to more traditional projects suited to the muni bond market, such as transportation, education, and housing, Neighborly is working with local communities that want to develop open access municipal networks. In this interview, Jase and Lindsey describe how the open access network fits so well with the firm's philosophy.

In addition to helping drum up the capital for muni deployment, Neighborly sharpshooters recognize that the opportunity for individuals to invest directly in a municipal project in their community will help the project ultimately succeed. After all, the investment is about more than turning profit when it’s providing fast affordable, reliable connectivity in your own hometown.

Lindsey and Jase discuss some of their past work and talk about the new Community Broadband Accelerator program that offers additional tools to communities investing in open access fiber networks. Specifics about the program are available on the Neighborly website and during the interview we get to hear more about the advantages of participating in the Community Broadband Accelerator program.

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This show is 36 minutes long and can be played on this page or via iTunes or the tool of your choice using this feed.

You can download this mp3 file directly from here. Listen to ...

Eight years after completing its citywide dark fiber network, Idaho Falls, Idaho, is now taking steps to offer municipal fiber optic Internet services to its residents. While the city engaged two consulting firms in 2015 to evaluate internet service options, the municipal power board of Trustees has now approved a pilot program to test the potential of creating a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network throughout the city this year. Once a pilot neighborhood is selected, the city expects to begin testing fiber optics in a thousand homes by early winter 2019. 

Idaho Falls, with a population of about 60,000, is the largest city in eastern Idaho. Located on the Snake River, the city is the county seat of Bonneville County and a center of activity in the region. While seven ISPs currently use the city’s publicly owned Circa dark fiber network, with its recent decision, the city hopes to finally use this infrastructure to its full potential and provide services of its own. 

Crucial Infrastructure

Many Idaho Falls city council members feel that the decision to provide fiber to residents and businesses is critical to the economic future of the city. In a conversation with East Idaho News Councilman John Radford noted that fiber connectivity is essential infrastructure - as crucial as gutters, sewers, and roads were in the 1900s. City spokesman Bud Cranor said,

“There is a huge need for increased capacity and connectivity not just for residents, but for business development. [The decision to offer fiber to residents] is going to be monumental in [the city’s] efforts to diversify [its] economy and bring new business.”

Jace Yancey, the Operations Technology Manager for Idaho Falls Power, asserted that the expanding network will provide a robust communication system and give customers access to unmatched broadband speeds. When describing the plan, he said, “This is light and fiber. The amount of data it can carry is just amazing.” While the new service will bring Internet speeds of over one Gbps to residents and spur...

The City of Sanford, Maine, is putting the final pieces of funding in place to move forward with its ambitious 45-mile fiber optic build, SandfordNet, the largest fiber infrastructure build proposed in Maine to date. 

Along with two other funding sources, the project will be financed by an existing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district in downtown Sanford. According to the Journal Tribune, the project will cost $2.02 million in total to complete; that figure is higher than initially projected, due in part to fees to access utility poles. 

The SanfordNet project involves building what the city describes as a “fourth redundant ring” that will attach to the statewide fiber loop known as the “Three Ring Binder.” Sanford’s building out the 45 miles of fiber and then connecting it to the Binder, which is about nine miles beyond city limits. The fiber will connect nearly 90 Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs), such as libraries and hospitals, to the infrastructure that will offer 10 Gigabit per second symmetrical upload and download capacity. The city is utilizing an open access model, leasing out its fiber to ISPs in a non-discriminatory approach that promotes competition.

GWI of Biddeford, Maine, will operate the network for Sanford and intends to offer Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) to residential premises along the fiber route in areas where there's sufficient demand. The open access model will create the opportunity for competition, creating better rates and better services for Mainers in the region. For more on what has become known as the "Maine Model," check out Christopher's conversation with GWI's CEO Fletcher Kittredge, episode 214 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast.

Where the Project Stands

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