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media roundup
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Community Broadband Media Roundup - August
While we think they buried the lede (talking about cord-cutting and entertainment options when what we really need in this country is a locally accountable choice), the New York Times editorial board came out in support of local authority for municipal networks, in a roundabout sort of way.
Preparing for Life After Cable by Editorial Board of the New York Times
Although Americans now have more choices than ever for how they watch TV, about seven in 10 American households can only get broadband Internet service from one or two providers, usually cable and phone companies.
In other words, the big telecom companies will still have plenty of leverage. Some analysts predict that as customers desert cable TV packages for Internet-based services, the telecom giants like Charter and AT&T will simply charge more for Internet access, wiping out some or all of the savings consumers had hoped for.
That’s why it is important that Congress and the Federal Communications Commission push for more choices in the broadband market. Among other things, they should override laws some states have passed that make it difficult or impossible for municipalities to invest in broadband networks. State and local officials could also help by streamlining rules that make it hard for newer businesses to string fiber-optic cable on utility poles or below ground in order to compete with established cable and phone companies.
Community Broadband By State
Colorado
Winter Park, Fraser will put broadband question to voters by Hank Shell, Sky Hi Daily News
Routt County broadband plan could be ready in less than three months by Teresa Ristow, Steamboat Today
Fort Collins, Loveland Will Have Broadband Vote On The 2015 Ballot by Jackie Fortier, KUNC
Minnesota
Community Broadband Media Roundup - August 10
Colorado
Wired for speed by Mary Shinn, The Durango Herald
Delaware
Newark exploring city-sponsored Internet by Xerxes Wilson, Delaware Online
Indiana
Board eyes way to bring fiber optics to Triton Central by Andy Proffet, Shelbyville News
New York
State looks for opinions on telecommunications future by Craig Wolf, The Poughkeepsie Journal
Broadband initiative advances in Allegany County By Brian Meyer, WBFO
A key step was taken within the past week when the Board of Legislators approved a local law that will pave the way for the creation of a not-for-profit local development corporation to manage the system. Pullen says the LDC will ensure that the county will have some control over the system.
“We’re not a business. We’re government. So we don’t want the county to be operating that, but we want the county to ultimately have control," Pullen said. "It owns this facility and wants it to be maintained and operated in the public interest.”
North Carolina
Gigabites: Ting Scouts NC for New Gig Sites by Mari Sibley, Light Reading
Oregon
Community Broadband Media Roundup - July 31
Two weeks ago, members of the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce committee met to discuss how they can have a hand in "Promoting Broadband Infrastructure Investment."
Next Century Cities Executive Director Deb Socia testified before members of the committee, along with several other groups and organizations.
That story leads our roundup:
- Next Century Cities Featured in Congressional Hearing on Broadband Infrastructure Investment by Deb Socia, Next Century Cities
- Gila River leader says lack of broadband is harming tribal, rural areas by Aubrey Rumore, Cronkite News
- Eshoo Outlines Keys to Broadband Buildout by John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable
Community Broadband News By State
Colorado
Loveland council to vote on broadband ballot language by Craig Young, The Reporter Herald
Connecticut
New Connecticut agency focuses on high-speed Internet by Luther Turmelle, New Haven Register
Illinois
Network agreement close in Mahomet by Amelia Benner, News Gazette
Kentucky
SOAR Announces High-Capacity Broadband Project Plans by Paul Hitchcock, WMKY
Maryland
Community Broadband Media Roundup - July 20
Community Network Media Roundup By State
California
Santa Monica cited as model city for broadband by Debbie Lee, The Santa Monica Daily Press
Beginning with the unveiling of a Telecommunications Master Plan in 1998, the City of Santa Monica has reduced the cost of laying fiber optic cable by nearly 90 percent by coordinating installation with other capital projects while issuing no additional debt. As of the end of 2013, the City of Santa Monica maintains 32 free Wi-Fi hotspots along nine major commercial corridors and has managed to synchronize 80 traffic signals, according to a report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). Additionally, generating $5 million in revenue toward the City General Fund, the city has lowered the cost of high capacity internet connections for businesses by over two-thirds.
“We’re gratified by this recognition of Santa Monica’s success at building out digital infrastructure, which we hope can serve as an example for other communities on how to proceed incrementally, sustainably and even profitably,” said Santa Monica Mayor, Kevin McKeown.
Colorado
High-speed broadband a slow process for city by Kevin Duggan, The Coloradoan
Fort Collins voters are likely to be asked in November to give the city authority to look into providing broadband service. However, if voters approve the proposal, the city is not locked in to being a service provider.
A “yes” vote would only open the door to the city exploring options and getting into sundry details, such as the role “incumbent” providers (Comcast, CenturyLink, etc.) might play in city-provided broadband, the cost of service, how to fund infrastructure upgrades, and so on.
Connecticut
New Haven, Conn., to Pursue Citywide Fiber-Optic Cable Network by Mary O’Leary, Government Technology
Pennsylvania
Community Broadband Media Roundup - July 13
California
US Senators asks FCC to probe into “ridiculous prices” charged for Internet access by Jonathan Clifford, Uncover California
Urging the FCC to look into the monthly charges which are being issued by service providers, the Senators have put forth the argument that the apparent lack of competition amongst service providers gives cable and phone companies the ability to increase the charges for service without any fear of loss of business.
Colorado
Fort Collins to host broadband open house, Coloradoan
Broadband discussion set for Thursday by Saja Hindi, Loveland Reporter Herald
"What we're hoping to achieve with this is to take back our right to provide the best services for Loveland and encourage and facilitate the best services for broadband in Loveland," she said.
If the voters don't approve it, she said, the city can't even look into providing the service directly or indirectly.
Idaho
Boise becomes 100th city to join Next Century Cities broadband coalition by Sean Buckley, Fierce Telecom
Massachusetts
22 US Towns Unite to Build Their Own Broadband Internet Infrastructure, Softpedia
Massachusetts Communities fund Broadband Collective by Civ Source
The project is a unique effort toward building out a shared services model for municipal broadband. The FCC recently announced its support for municipal broadband following years of coordinated attacks by the largest telecom companies to stifle these network, even where they have no plans to build private networks.
Community Broadband Media Roundup - July 6
California
Santa Cruz partners with local internet provider for next-gen Internet by Jessica York, Santa Cruz SentinelMaine
Maine
Maine Gov. Paul LePage Vetoes State Broadband Fund by Colin Wood, GovTech
New York
Audit Reveals Verizon Tried To Corner NYC Broadband Market By Striking Exclusive Landlord Deals by Karl Bode, TechDirt
Verizon's refusing to serve millions of people, but making it impossible for anyone else to do so either. If you've followed the municipal broadband debate, that's effectively the same logic the mega-ISPs have displayed on a national level, and this kind of behavior by incumbent ISPs (especially if you watched the ILEC/CLEC wars of the late 90s and early aughts) is a major contributor to the nation's utterly mediocre rankings in most broadband metrics.
North Carolina
Backed by the telecommunications industry N.C., Tenn. fighting attempts at city-run broadband by Tim Mandell, Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues
Pennsylvania
Lancaster city debuts free wi-fi in bins park by Dan Nephin, Lancaster Online
Free Wi-Fi in public areas is a side benefit of the municipal broadband program the city is building to improve city services, such as remote water-meter reading. Residential and business Internet subscriptions will also be offered, according to city officials.
Texas
Community Broadband Media Roundup - June 26, 2015
How States Are Fighting to Keep Towns From Offering Their Own Broadband by Leticia Miranda, ProPublica
North Carolina and Tennessee are the latest states to side with telecoms, which have long lobbied against allowing cities to become Internet providers.
Community Broadband Networks - News By State
Alabama
Forbes recognizes Auburn-Opelika area region among nation’s best for job creation by OANow.com
This type of job creation was greatly encouraged by Opelika's FTTH network. Opelika's experience shows the power of local authority and self-reliance.
Maine
Will Maine Create a $500 Municipal Broadband Fund? by Colin Wood, GovTech
Proponents of municipal broadband say Maine's Legislature has its heart in the right place, but $500 won't buy the citizenry much connectivity...
It’s frustrating to see such a promising piece of legislation relegated into uncertainty, Mitchell said.
“It still sets an interesting precedent in terms of targeting municipal open-access approaches, which I think is valuable, although clearly much less so if they’re not going to put any money into it,” he said. “Just about every elected official wants to vote and tell their constituents that they supported better broadband, but they really don’t want to upset the Fairpoint and Time Warner Cable lobbyists, so they’ve kind of done both. The lobbyists are happy because there’s no real funding, but a lot of people will go home and say, ‘Well, I voted for better broadband for the state.’"
Maryland
City task force calls for better broadband in Baltimore by Stephen Babcock, Technical.ly
Community Broadband Media Roundup - June 19
35 Mayors and Elected Officials Call for Accessible Broadband Performance Information Following GAO Investigation, Next Century Cities
To help our communities access these critical opportunities, we have joined the city-to-city collaborative Next Century Cities, which supports local efforts to provide these networks. We are working to provide the high-quality Internet that is essential to thriving communities and remain deeply appreciative of the Commission’s ongoing efforts to safeguard the principle of local choice and empower more communities to achieve high-speed broadband Internet.
Community Broadband Media Roundup- By State
Colorado
Firestone commissions municipal Internet study by Karen Antonacci, Times-Call Region News
Homeowners near Palmer Divide stuck with slow Internet or no Internet at all by Eric Ross, KOAA
Davis says no company he's talked with is willing to expand service in the area. He tells News5 each time a provider comes back with an offer and he agrees, the offer price keeps increasing.
Two of the largest providers in Colorado have contracts with El Paso County, so we wanted to know whether these providers were in violation by providing access to some homeowners, but not others.
Florida/Georgia
Massachusetts
Community Broadband Media Roundup - June 15, 2015
This week's big news came out of Washington, specifically Seattle. The city just published a report examining the feasibility of a Chattanooga-type citywide municipal fiber network. The report and related materials are available here; read the news release here. In short, duplicating a Chattanooga-type approach appears too risky given the likely response from incumbents Comcast and CenturyLink.
Seattle
Public Internet is supposed to lower prices. In Seattle, it could work too well by Brian Fung Washington Post
Is Muni Broadband Feasible in Seattle? Not Likely, Report Finds by Colin Wood, GovTech
The numbers don't bode well for proponents of municipal broadband in Seattle, but the city has other plans.
“The broadband market has been changing incredibly fast just in the past six months, since the president mentioned the need for strong broadband access in his State of the Union address," he said. "And we’re starting to see some interesting joint ventures that allow cities to meet their policy objectives around equity and around economic development through broadband."
Seattle councilmember calls for ‘mass citywide movement’ against Comcast and CenturyLink in support of municipal broadband by Taylor Soper, Geekwire
GeekWire Radio: Amazon meeting hijacked; Twitter shakeup; and the future of municipal broadband by Todd Bishop, GeekWire
Cost of municipal broadband for Seattle less than estimated by Daniel Beekman, Seattle Times
Community Broadband Media Roundup - June 7
Living Without Broadband In 2015: How 55 Million Americans Find Jobs, Study, Watch YouTube by Kerry Flynn, International Business Times
Community Network News By State
Ohio
Ohio electric cooperative to provide fiber services to 15 school districts, local businesses by Sean Buckley, Fierce Telecom
North Carolina
For Wilson's Greenlight Community Broadband, fiber waiting game in full swing by Lauren K. Ohnesorge, Triangle Business Journal Journal
Consumer DISsatisfaction Poll
Satisfied with your cable, Internet service? Not so much, poll shows by Lance Whitney, CNet
Customer satisfaction with providers of pay TV, Internet and wireless access has hit its lowest level in seven years, according to a new survey.
Guess which two nationwide pay TV providers are the most hated in the country by Zach Epstein, BGR
Other Broadband News
Telecom Law Overhaul Hit by 'Atomic Bomb' of Net Neutrality by Brendan Sasso, National Journal
Hopes are dimming for the first major update of the Communications Act since 1996.