Once again, the Georgia General Assembly is considering a bill that would devastate local communities’ right to build their own telecommunications networks. ILSR is monitoring this House Bill 282 as it moves through through the Senate and House. The bill, misleadingly called the “Municipal Broadband Investment Act,” creates barriers to any municipal network in areas that … Read More
In 2011, MSNBC reported on Thomasville, Georgia. The small community beat the odds to nourish a vibrant downtown. At the time, local independent businesses in the U.S. disappeared as quaint main streets lost mom and pop ventures to the economy. Such was not the case with Thomasville. MSNBC’s report, a little over 2 minutes and embedded … Read More
Last Friday, FCC Chairman Genachowski issued a statement discouraging states from creating (or maintaining) barriers to community owned networks. This statement came just days after Georgia began considering a bill to limit local authority in deciding whether a network were a wise decision. As we’ve recognized in law and policy for many years, public-private partnerships are … Read More
Have you heard of the National Information Infrastructure, or the NII? Most of us either haven’t, or have forgotten we once knew what it could be. Dewayne Hendricks joins us to remind us what it was and why we should care. It’s “kind of a big thing.” Since we conducted this interview, unlicensed spectrum issues became … Read More
Susan Crawford sat down with Bill Moyers to talk about Internet access in America. The two touch on net neutrality, the digital divide, and how access is now a critical component to our economic development. In the words of Bill Moyers, “This is pretty strong stuff.” Bill and Susan also talk about how we have come … Read More
Remember that Washington Post story about bigger, free Wi-Fi networks? It went hugely viral with all manner of outlets picking the story up, unintentionally distorting it, and amplifying it. Some good has come of it. For one thing, I was reminded that Ars Technica does a really good job of tech reporting, better than anyone else … Read More
In just a few days, we have seen many articles discussing how unwise and dangerous HB 282 is for the future of economic development in Georgia. This bill will revoke local authority to decide for themselves if any public investment in telecommunications is a wise choice. We already noted coverage from DSL Reports, Free Press, and … Read More
A collaboration between local Idaho and Wyoming counties, the town of Rexburg, Idaho, and Brigham Young University will be exploring the possibility of a community owned fiber optic network. Significant business interest in the project has contributed to the decision to move forward with a feasibility study. According to a Standard Journal article, Design Nine has … Read More
In the 30 hours since we learned of a bill in Georgia to revoke local authority to decide for themselves if a broadband network is a wise investment, we have seen a big response! Some of that is detailed below, but what matters for now is that HB 282 was bumped from today to next week. … Read More
