There is little doubt that our readers are aware of Chairman Wheeler's remarks on September 4th at 1776, a start-up incubator in D.C. His message echoed what policy leaders have repeated countless times - competition is lacking in the world of broadband.

Telecommunications has become a popular topic in the past few months as decision makers are discovering that constituents DO care about online access, economic development, and exessive consolidation. ILSR was pleased to see the Chairman address the issue of lack of competition and released the following statement:

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance applauds FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s Agenda for Broadband Competition. We feel it is a positive step coming from the nation’s top communications official.  

“These gigabit developments are positive, but they are not yet pervasive,” Wheeler said. “Looking across the broadband landscape, we can only conclude that, while competition has driven broadband deployment, it has not yet done so a way that necessarily provides competitive choices for most Americans.”

Wheeler's recognition that Americans lack a true choice in fast, affordable, and reliable Internet access is an important development. If we want real options for next-generation connectivity, local governments must be free to build then own networks. 

If there is one thing we have learned from the history of essential infrastructure, it is that local governments must have the option of building and owning it themselves. 

“Hundreds of communities have already invested in their own fiber networks, keeping money in the local economy and spurring job growth.” says Community Broadband Networks director Chris Mitchell.

Boulder's City Council is considering November ballot question to restore local authority for municipal telecommunications services. The measure, if passed, will create an exemption to the 2005 Colorado law allowing Boulder to better use its existing fiber optic infrastructure.

Apparently, the Boulder community has a self-reliant streak. This is not the first time the Institute for Local Self-Reliance has reported on the community of 97,000. John Farrell, Director of the Democratic Energy initiative, has followed the grassroots campaign to establish a city-owned electric utility in Boulder.

The Daily Camera reports that City Council staff, in a memo to Members, recommend the community seek authority to make use of existing assets. The City owns an extensive network of conduit that it began developing in the 1990s. Boulder has aggressively expanded the network, leasing it to private partners and using the space for a fiber I-Net to connect over 50 municipal facilities.

The Boulder Research and Administration Network (BRAN) serves the City, the University of Colorado, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Each of the four entities shared equally in funding the $1.2 million eleven mile network. Boulder is an administering partner for BRAN and hopes to capitalize on that relationship even further.

Approximately 10% of Boulder's residents have home-based businesses, reports City Council staff. The community ranks high in the concentration of software engineers, innovators, and scientists. Businesses with less than 100 employees comprise 97% of firms in Boulder. Local surveys indicate the business community is hungry for better services. From the Daily Camera article:

[Director of Information Technology Don] Ingle said the city has no concrete plans in place to pursue partners, but he believes there will be a lot of interest if Boulder can get the authority.

The Blandin Foundation will be offering a webinar featuring Chris Mitchell from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance on Thursday, June 12 from 3 - 4 p.m. central time.

The discussion, titled "Approaches for Local Governments to Expand Internet Access," will include lessons learned from communities such as Lac qui Parle County, Windom, and several other Greater Minnesota communities.

We recently published a policy brief, Minnesota Governments Advance Super-Fast Internet Networks, that examines these and other communities in rural Minnesota. You can download the brief to read more.

The webinar is free for participants - register online. See you there!

Tim Danahey recently brought Chris Mitchell on his show to talk about municipal networks and their role in preserving network neutrality. Tim is a fan of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and our work.

Tim is a great interviewer because he is up on the issue and politically savvy. From the show website:

If President Obama or the FCC don’t stand up for the people, the open internet will soon end. If you want to get your internet voice out to the world, you may have to pay for the priority. Furthermore, you may have to out-bid well-funded corporate internet users. The President shows no sign of upholding his 2007 promise to sustain net neutrality and his appointee to head the FCC is a communication industry insider. What can the people do? First, try to get the President to keep his promise. If he won’t, then many communities in the United States are setting-up community-owned broadband service that is up to 40 times faster than corporate-owned internet service provides. It’s also less expensive and it is becoming a powerful economic development tool for communities that have already implemented it. In fact, it’s so good that Koch-funded ALEC is trying to shut it down. But we can do it. Here’s how.

The American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) brings the 2014 Go Local, Grow Local Conference to downtown Minneapolis May 8 - 11. Christopher Mitchell will speak at the conference on Friday, May 9, at 3:45 central. Chris will speak on creating local environments that help entrepreneurs thrive, including community networks. 

AMIBA began in 1997 in Boulder, Colorado. The nonprofit helps communities create and manage "buy independent, buy local" campaigns across the country. Local businesses increasingly rely on Internet commerce and on the ability to engage in business through telecommunications networks. Community networks, accountable to local business and residential customers, are more important that ever before. 

AMIBA's conference will aim to provide strategies to develop well-considered local indepenedent business programs and find momentum to support them. Prepare to get your hands dirty:

Sure, the Go Local, Grow Local conference will provide you with new insights, ideas and inspiration. But what really sets this event apart is practicality. Every session is designed to offer you specific actions that will yield tangible results for your organization, community or business. Presentations are brief and provide practical guidance while setting the stage for dialogue and action. You'll be a participant, not just an attendee.

Stacy Mitchell, Program Director of the Community-Scaled Economies initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, has worked with AMIBA for years; she is currently a member of the Advisory Board. Stacy has been a keynote speaker at many AMIBA conferences, authored several books on independent business, and delivered the popular TEDx talk, "Why We Can't Shop Our Way to a Better Economy."

We are looking forward to welcoming AMIBA to the Twin Cities! View the full agenda, find information about presenters, and register on the AMIBA website.

Our listening audience hears Chris Mitchell interview people every week for the Broadband Bits Podcast. Now it is time for the interviewer to become the interviewee.

Chris took a few minutes to participate in the June 2013 episode of the Whatcha Workin' On Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. He told us a little about how the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative got started and what we are working on now. This is a nice opportunity to spend ten minutes looking at the inner workings of ILSR's broadband efforts.

You can listen to Chris and subscribe to the the podcast via iTunes. Each month we talk with a different member of the team to find out what is going on at ILSR.