Co-Mo Cooperative and the Co-Mo Connect Board of Directors recently voted to proceed with the final phases of its gigabit FTTH project. The decision assures the plan to bring to triple-play to all Co-Mo members by the end of 2016. We checked in on Co-Mo about a year ago, when the cooperative announced it would increase … Read More
As the Senate version of Missouri’s latest anti-muni bill, SB 266 [PDF], moved forward recently, a group of private sector companies and interested organizations appealed to state lawmakers [PDF] urging them to stop it in its tracks. In January we reported on HB 437, introduced by House Member Rocky Miller. Its Senate companion, which establishes an … Read More
Isleboro, the Maine island community of 566, will decide in May whether or not they want to bond to build a municipal fiber network, reports The Working Waterfront. The network will be owned by the town who plans to partner with GWI to operate and manage it. Currently, about 2/3 of residents on the island use … Read More
Minnesota Public Radio’s Daily Circuit show – March 4, 2015 The Federal Communications Commission voted last Thursday to approve the open internet policy known as net neutrality. Free internet advocates are thrilled with the ruling, but others have voiced skepticism about the importance of the vote. What will change now that net neutrality is approved? Will … Read More
Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director of ILSR and Director of the Community-Scaled Economy Initiative, took a few moments to look back over the work of David Carr. Carr’s work included investigating monopolies in the telecommunications space. Stacy’s story, re-posted here, originally ran on ILSR.org. What will we do without David Carr, the brilliant media columnist at the New York … Read More
When the FCC announced its intention last week to neutralize the negative impacts of Tennessee and North Carolina anti-muni laws, celebrating reached far beyond Chattanooga and Wilson. In Lafayette, home to LUS Fiber, City-Parish President Joey Durel took time to write a supportive letter to Wilson’s Mayor Bruce Rose. We reproduce the text of that letter … Read More
As high quality Internet has become more essential for business and quality of life, those who realized that the existing telecom providers had no intention to invest in better connections in their rural Missouri communities began to ask their electric cooperative – Co-Mo – to step up and do it. This week, we talk with Randy … Read More
Last week, the FCC made history when it chose to restore local telecommunications authority by nullifying state barriers in Tennessee and North Carolina. Waiting in the wings were Rep. Marsha Blackburn and Senator Thom Tillis from Tennessee and North Carolina respectively, with their legislation to cut off the FCC at the knees. [A PDF of the … Read More
Various Sources, February 26 – March 1, 2015 ILSR was part of a broad coalition that had been working to get the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt rules to protect the development of municipally owned broadband networks across the country along with supporting net neutrality. Here are a selection of media stories that ILSR was … Read More
