With a meeting on July 17th of city officials, local residents, institutional stakeholders, and technology consultants, Bozeman officially began its process of creating a master plan for its Broadband Initiative. The process will be lead by Design Nine, a consulting firm based in Virginia, and will include a survey of existing assets and needs, feasibility studies, … Read More
So I was reading Bill Schrier’s article about CenturyLink’s announcement about supposedly investing in a gigabit for some people in some cities. He includes a link where people can sign up for new announcements as they come. I already checked my address in Saint Paul but it isn’t available. But I figured, sure, I’d like to … Read More
We reported back in June on Huntsville, Alabama’s decision to undertake feasibility study to evaluate its options for increasing next generation fiber optic internet access throughout the city. AL.com is now reporting that Huntsville Utilities hopes to hear the results of the study within 90 days, allowing it to decide whether it will take steps to expand … Read More
Given the exciting development of the FCC opening comment on petitions from Wilson, NC and Chattanooga, TN to restore local authority to their states, Lisa and I decided to take over this week’s podcast of Community Broadband Bits. We talk about the petitions, some background, and interview Will Aycock from Wilson’s Greenlight Gigabit Network and Danna … Read More
The effort to restore local authority in deciding whether or not to build a municipal fiber network is full speed ahead. On Monday, the FCC responded to petitions from Chattanooga, TN and Wilson, NC by opening up formal proceedings on the matter, and requesting people weigh in on the issue. Reporters from the Washington Post to … Read More
Sanford, a city of about 21,000 in far southwestern Maine, is weighing its options for a limited fiber optic network. The Sanford Regional Economic Growth Council has been the driving force behind the project, hiring Tilson Technology Management of Portland earlier this year to develop a Broadband Plan for Sanford. The Growth Council began exploring broadband … Read More
USA Today, August 1, 2014 Chattanooga, Tenn., is the unlikely poster child for fast, affordable high-speed Internet. It’s the first city in the nation to offer all residents and businesses up to gigabit-per-second Internet — about 50 times faster than what the Federal Communications Commission says is the national average. But laws in 19 states make … Read More
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance recently submitted comments to the FCC as part of its Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet proceeding. ILSR focused on the issue of paid prioritization, reclassification, and regulation of content. We also provided some examples of municipal networks that provide fast, reliable, affordable service and do not rely on paid prioritization … Read More
For the first time in many years, we have an opportunity to repeal some particularly destructive state laws limiting investment in community networks. To be clear, this is our best shot. I’ve already covered the background and offered a blanket encouragement for you to post comments. Chairman Wheeler has been looking for an opportunity to expand … Read More
