California’s Watsonville, population 51,200, joins the ranks of municipalities considering the benefits of a publicly owned fiber optic network to connect key facilities. At a September 10 the City Council passed a resolution approving plans and calling for an RFP for a next generation fiber network. Bids will be accepted until October 8, 2013. According to a … Read More
Okanogan County, located along the extreme north central border of Washington State, is expanding its wholesale fiber optic network to more small local communities. The Okanogan Public Utility District (PUD) received a $5.5 million grant and a $3.7 million loan through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and will extend service to about 80% of … Read More
Jim Baller is back again for the second show in our series on the history of municipal broadband networks. He is the President of the Baller Herbst Law Group in Washington, DC, and a long time advocate for both community owned networks specifically and better access to the Internet for all more generally. We kicked this … Read More
The Internet Must Go is a fun look at a serious topic: how big cable and telephone companies are trying to make us pay more for less access to the Internet. Please watch and share! Video:
Residents of Vernon, California, will soon have the option to connect to the City’s fiber optic network. Vernon offers dark and lit fiber to local businesses via 35 miles of fiber but residents are stuck with slow DSL connections. An EGPNews.com article reports: City officials say they hope to bridge the digital gap for its residents … Read More
Baltimore Business Journal, September 5, 2013 Broadband Internet, at its core, comes down to a pipe buried three feet underground and snaked with fiber-optic cable. It has also emerged as one of the most hotly debated issues of the information age, subject to a tangle of federal regulations and millions of dollars in telecommunications industry lobbying. … Read More
The Star reports that the Roanoke City Council unanimously voted to work with surrounding communities to form a broadband coalition. We reported Roanoke County, Botetourt County, Salem and the town of Roanoke were in the process forming the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority. Local community leaders took the first step in Roanoke, where the community has already … Read More
The story has been updated to fix errors. The original story described the project as a partnership but we have since learned it is a project of the Kitsap Public Utility District that is encouraged by the City. We reported on Poulsbo, Washington, last fall after the community began a wireless pilot project providing a free … Read More
Lisa Gonzalez and I are back with another back and forth reaction to some of the crazy claims made by opponents of community owned Internet networks. This is something we started with Episode 50 and continued in Episode 55. For volume 3 of our Crazy Talk series, we address some recent claims made in opinion pieces, … Read More
