On May 14th, Susan Crawford will speak at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in San Francisco. The event will be hosted by the Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA) of the CPUC, and the theme of the discussion will be “Digital Communications in the United States: Should Broadband Communications be a Public Utility Service?” The event … Read More
Eduardo Porter has an important column today in the business section of the New York Times, “Yanking Broadband From the Slow Lane.” He correctly identifies some of the culprits slowing the investment in Internet networks in our communities. The last two paragraphs read: Yet the challenge remains: monopolies have a high instinct for self-preservation. And more … Read More
This is a show I have been wanting to do for years – discussing some of the common mistakes that have been make by community owned networks. Offering broadband and other telecommunications services is a difficult business for any entity, public or private and all network owners make mistakes. The vast majority of these errors can … Read More
In the coming years, we will continue to see groups and elected officials funded by the big cable and telephone companies try to delegitimize any public sector investment in Internet networks. We have already endured a year of mostly-frivolous charges against BTOP and BIP stimulus programs. At times like this, it may be helpful to look … Read More
Blandin on Broadband, May 6, 2013 Chris Mitchell promotes community networks. He’s at the Institute for Local Self Reliance, so his view makes sense. He follows broadband access closely. Late last week he posted an interesting article on CenturyLink, noting that CenturyLink’s plan for 1 Gbps service in Omaha is an outlier, not a sign of … Read More
We recently learned about Aztec, New Mexico’s, free downtown Wi-Fi so we decided to contact Wallace Begay, the IT Director, to find out more. This desert community of about 6,600 people not only offers the free service, but uses its fiber to serve government, schools, and even four-legged residents. Begay tells us that in 1998 the … Read More
In a recent New York Daily New article, Scott Stringer wrote about the Big Apple’s tech employment trends. He noted that more tech related positions now come to the city but those jobs still tend to elude women and people of color. He suggests looking at New York’s own workforce and offering better science and technology … Read More
CenturyLink is a massive telephone company struggling to remain relevant as we transition to mobile phones and require connections much faster than DSL delivers. Though the Omaha gigabit announcement may seem to be a monumental shift for this company, it actually is not. It is a blip on the radar – an important blip but a … Read More
In 2008, the Tullahoma Utilities Board in Tennessee, created LighTUBe. In addition to attracting employers, the FTTH network connects residents and provides smart meter capability. The network now offers 1 gig service to business and residential customers. Andrea Agardy, from the Tullahoma News, covered the story. Residential customers who now purchase the highest tier, 300 Mbps, … Read More
