California

California's digital divide closing but new 'under-connected' class emerges by Seung Lee, The Mercury News

Nebraska

There's a real digital divide in rural Nebraska by Nicholas Bergin, Lincoln Journal Star

Internet access crucial for rural areas by Lincoln Journal Star editorial board

Tennessee

The surprising city that rates highest for TV, broadband services by Adam Buckman, MediaPost

Texas

Did Comcast sabotage this independent ISP that spurned it? by Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics

The former owner of a small internet service provider in South Texas is suing Comcast, accusing the cable giant of systematically and deliberately severing all of its cables, essentially sabotaging the small business and running it into the ground.

General

New report swings and misses on communities and next generation broadband by Blair Levin, Brookings Institution

California

The time is now for San Francisco municipal fiber, says report by Ryan McCauley, GovTech

San Francisco considers municipal broadband by Bailey McCann, CivSource

Mississippi

Supes move to attract fiber Internet providers to county by Ryan Phillips, Starkville Daily News

"Big telecom companies should either lead, follow or get out of the way trying to provide these services," Presley said. "It's high time they plan to serve every customer in Mississippi and we will be introducing plans in the coming months to get that done."

North Dakota

Affordable broadband vital to development by Sean Cleary, Grand Forks Herald

Texas

Comcast accused of cutting competitor's wires to put it out of business by Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica

Telecom Cable LLC had "229 satisfied customers" in Weston Lakes and Corrigan, Texas when Comcast and its contractors sabotaged its network, the lawsuit filed last week in Harris County District Court said.

Comcast had tried to buy Telecom Cable's Weston Lakes operations in 2013 "but refused to pay what they were worth," the complaint says. Starting in June 2015, Comcast and two contractors it hired "systematically destroyed Telecom’s business by cutting its lines and running off its customers," the lawsuit says. Comcast destroyed or damaged the lines serving all Telecom Cable customers in Weston Lakes and never repaired them, the lawsuit claims.

General

California

Closing the digital divide in the Inland Empire by Paul Granillo San Bernardino County Sun

Colorado

Louisville to weigh municipal broadband question for November ballot by Anthony Hahn, Louisville News

Regional partnership opportuinities propel Craig, Moffat broadband efforts by Lauren Blair, Craig Daily Press

Florida

Living without Internet accessibility in the digital age by Danielle Ellis, WJHG-TV

Maine

Rural broadband bill cruises through Maine legislature by Colin Wood, StateScoop

Municipal broadband advocacy groups like the Institute for Local Self-Reliance label bills like this one as tools for the telecommunications industry to limit competition, while taxpayers associations typically argue the measures are necessary to ensure that large scale projects are entered carefully. Controversial research published byUniversity of Pennsylvania Law School professor Christopher Yoo in May found that, according to certain projections, municipal networks are frequently financially unviable.

Minnesota

California

Internet for All Now Act passes state assembly by ECT Staff, East County Today

"Jarring" Internet access survey results embolden leaders of citywide broadband by Joshua Sabatini, San Francisco Examiner

Internet for all San Franciscans? Here's how it could happen by Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle

“The nice thing about Wi-Fi is that it costs less up front, and you can install it before the next election,” said Christopher Mitchell, a community broadband expert at the Institute for Local Self Reliance, an advocacy group in Minneapolis.

But he noted that Farrell could face intense opposition from big telecom companies like Comcast and AT&T, which provide most of the Internet service and infrastructure in San Francisco.

“There will be a scare campaign involving print mailers, telephone calls and radio messages, saying that community broadband will threaten city finances,” Mitchell said.

Georgia

EMCs could help fill broadband gaps by Jill Nolin, Thomasville Times-Enterprise

Nationally, electric cooperatives are relatively new to fiber broadband, but their involvement is “growing enormously,” said Christopher Mitchell, director of community broadband networks at the nonprofit Institute for Local Self-Reliance. 

North Carolina

NC maps out high-speed Internet access across state by Steve Sbraccia, CBS North Carolina

Florida

Commentary: Spectrum says, if I cut my service, my bill goes...up? by Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel

Maine

Franklin County group snags $43,000 grant to study broadband access by Kate McCormick, Morning Sentinel

North Carolina

Crowdsourced broadband mapping helps North Carolina clean its data by Colin Wood, StateScoop

"[There are] a lot of opportunities with [municipal networks] and co-ops but the Legislature seems unable to comprehend that the big national firms don't care about rural North Carolina," Mitchell said.

Pennsylvania

Extending broadband Internet service to rural areas remains a challenge by Kery Murakami, Eagle Tribune

Tennessee

High-speed chase: Nashville drives toward an ultrafast Internet future - despite potholes by Linda Bryant, Nashville Post

“Legal games are part of the problem in Nashville,” Mitchell adds. “What’s really frustrating is that normally it would be difficult to build a network in a city as large as Nashville. But when you are also facing AT&T or Comcast holding things up, getting things done becomes really hard.”

Virginia

California

How not to close the digital divide by Blair Levin and Larry Downes, San Francisco Chronicle

North Carolina

Is your Internet up to speed? New map tool will track places in NC that need better access by Abbie Bennett, Charlotte News & Observer

Crowdsourced broadband mapping helps North Carolina clean its data by Colin Wood, StateScoop

Mitchell argues that the state is ignoring some of its best options by depending on a private market that has thus far consistently failed to serve certain areas of the state.

"[There are] a lot of opportunities with [municipal networks] and co-ops but the Legislature seems unable to comprehend that the big national firms don't care about rural North Carolina," Mitchell said.

General

Legislative efforts in Mo., Tenn. leave broadband advocates hopeful by Craig Settles, Daily Yonder

Advocates who say local governments and utility cooperatives should have more freedom to provide broadband in underserved areas scored two legislative victories this spring.

In Missouri, a bill that would have restricted the ability of cities, counties, or other public entities to run broadband networks was defeated. In Tennessee, the state passed a bill that expands the ability of electric cooperatives to get into the broadband business.

Colorado

Fort Collins likely to put city-provided broadband services on November ballot by Kevin Duggan, The Coloradoan

Maine

Proposed legislation aimed at protecting Mainers' Internet privacy by Portland Press Herald

Minnesota

Is there a market for city-owned Internet service? by Randy Petersen, Rochester Post Bulletin

The need for improved technology took Robison to the April 17 Rochester City Council meeting to join four other residents supporting a proposed market study regarding municipal broadband. The concept of a city-supported Internet service in Rochester was first broached by the council in 2015 in an effort to ensure adequate access to high-speed Internet service at a reasonable price.

Council member Michael Wojcik has been advocating for action from the start, noting quality Internet access is needed to keep local students and businesses competitive. "Broadband is key for information for a lot of people, particularly younger generations, and going forward, it becomes more and more critical," he said.

Ohio

Study: Ohio statewide broadband office, investment fund could help boost rural access by Theo Douglas, Government Technology

General

National Digital Inclusion Week helps build nationwide momentum for digital equity by Zack Quaintance, Government Technology

Colorado

Fort Collins' broadband push hits speed bump by Kevin Duggan, The Coloradoan

Massachusetts

Six Massachusetts towns win broadband infrastructure grants to build fiber optic networks by Mary C. Serreze, MassLive

Michigan

County considers reduced cost proposal for high-speed Internet by Matt Mikus, Petoskey News

Virginia

Better broadband service coming to rural communities by Rachel Lucas, WSLS 10 News

Washington

Seattle passes new rule protecting broadband user privacy by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

West Virginia

Broadband council prepares for expanded role by Max Garland, West Virginia Gazette Mail

General

Internet access is an essential part of life, but the quality of that access can vary wildly by Mark Surman, Quartz

Maine

Bill seek to restrict Maine towns' efforts to build high-speed Internet networks by Colin Woodard, Portland Press Herald

Christopher Mitchell, director of community broadband networks at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Minneapolis, said the Maine bill and others like it across the country are designed to stifle competition. “The very large providers recognize that they compete not on service, but on being the only game in town,” he said.

New Maine law would restrict community broadband networks by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

Bill will not stop Maine towns from building high speed Internet by Colin Woodard, Portland Press Herald

The bill would have imposed numerous restrictions on municipalities that wanted to invest in their own network or to form a public-private partnership to build one they can lease. These include mandatory feasibility studies and public referendum provisions, prohibitions on using municipal funds, restrictions on using funds through a bond issue or setting rates, and the removal of anti-trust liability protections for town’s that offer broadband.

While ALEC claims to be a nonpartisan professional association for state legislators, critics say it is really a corporate-funded conduit allowing businesses to write legislation for compliant lawmakers. Virtually all of its funding comes from its corporate members, and its telecoms committee – which created the organization’s anti-municipal broadband bill – has counted many of the major cable and telephone companies as members, including Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and Cox. A vice president of their industry association, Rick Cimerman, is the committee’s current corporate chair.

California

AT&T's rollout of broadband serves the rich, shunts mid- and low-income families to the slow lane by Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times

But a new report on AT&T’s strategy for rolling out high-speed Internet service in California underscores what may be the biggest flaw in that argument: When critical infrastructure construction is left entirely to private companies, much of the public gets shortchanged.

The report, released Tuesday by UC Berkeley’s Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, shows how AT&T, the largest telecommunications carrier in the U.S. and California, favored the wealthiest communities in rolling out its Internet service. The median income of households with access to AT&T’s fastest fiber-to-the-home service was $94,208 as of last June. That was some 50% higher than the statewide median income of about $61,800 (as of 2015).

Kentucky

Monopolistic control of Internet costing you money and speed by Ben Kleppinger, Advocate Messenger

Search for countywide broadband continues by Jackson French, Bowling Green Daily News

Louisana

New Orleans uses targeted approach to spread tech awareness, improve digital equity by Zack Quaintance, Government Technology

Maine