Last fall, nonprofit ISP OneCommunity created the “Big Gig Challenge” to jump start expansion and promote gigabit applications in northeast Ohio. The organization recently announced the winners and provided some information about their projects. The West 25th Corridor project, running through Ohio City, Tremont, Clark-Fulton, Brooklyn Centre, and Old Brooklyn is a four mile stretch that … Read More
The 2015 Broadband Communities Summit is scheduled for April 14 – 16 in Austin, Texas. When you book your flight and reserve your room, plan on coming a day early so you can take advantage of the is year’s special pre-conference event. The Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) will offer a full day’s agenda on … Read More
Eleven Select boards in Franklin County are ready to take the next step with WiredWest Cooperative. According to the Recorder, the towns of Ashfield, Charlemont, Colrain, Hawley, Heath, Leyden, New Salem, Rowe, Shutesbury, Warwick and Wendell have all approved nonbinding resolutions taking them into the financial planning phase. Last fall, the organization and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) agreed … Read More
We continue to see reverberations from President Obama’s speaking out in favor of municipal networks. The presidential nod sparked state lawmakers to propose bills, news organizations to write editorials, and to give communities a better sense of how they can take action locally. As Claire Cain Miller with the New York Times wrote in her article … Read More
Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 134 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Elliot Noss, CEO of Tucows and head of Ting. Listen to this episode here. 00:08: Elliot Noss: You know, I think that fiber infrastructure is the most important economic asset that any town, city, or country could have. … Read More
President Obama’s recent appearance in Cedar Falls infused adrenaline into the debate about local authority for telecommunications decisions. As a result, some of the media outlets from large cities are now coming out in support of local authority. The Editorial Board of the LA Times published an opinion on January 21st supporting the notion of restoring local authority in states where laws prevent community decision making.
The Times recognizes that rural areas will benefit most from reversing these restrictions, that the restrictions need to be removed for us to compete globally, and that there are numerous municipal networks that are up to the challenge of improving connectivity. The LA Times also recognizes the value of public-private partnerships in New York and in other places where local government has forged productive relationships with the private sector.
Editors at the LA Times boil it down to one tenet:
Regardless, the decision about whether a local agency should get into the broadband business should be left to the people who bear the risk — local officials and the people who elect them.
Senator Booker has taken the lead in introducing the Community Broadband Act to the U.S. Senate along with Senators McCaskill and Markey. We are thankful for their leadership on the issue. As part of their announcement, they included the following statements: “As Mayor of Newark, I saw firsthand the value of empowering local communities to invest … Read More
Maine continues to be a hot spot in the drive to improve connectivity as the 2015 state legislative session opens. According to the Bangor Daily News, 35 bills have been introduced that deal with broadband issues. The story also notes that several lawmakers have introduced bills that propose funding from the state. House Republican Norman Higgins … Read More
In Missoula and Bozeman, momentum is building for improved connectivity by way of community network infrastructure. As usual, funding a municipal network is always one of the main challenges, but the state appears uninterested in helping them. State Representative Kelly McCarthy recently dropped HB 14 into the hopper, a bill to create a broadband development fund … Read More
