On Friday, I wrote a harsh, quick response to FCC Chairman’s Genachowski’s so-called gigabit challenge announced in a guest column on Forbes. Since then, I have learned more about the 1 Gbps Challenge and I have to reiterate my frustration with it. We need the Chairman to reduce barriers to community-owned networks, not just recognize their … Read More
The next time you hear someone claiming that the broadband market in the U.S. has plenty of competition, remember this statement from Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. And so each of the last two years, we have had modest increases in the cost of the broadband service, and yet we’ve had tremendous sales. We’re 33%, 31% penetrated. … Read More
If you are a 21st century crafter, you are probably prolific at finding inspiration online. You may be familiar with American Crafts of Orem for ideas or products. The company, founded in 1994, is now a customer of UTOPIA and reports significant bandwidth improvement after the switch from old T-1 connections. From the UTPOIA blog: With … Read More
In a column published today, Chairman Genachowski explains why the U.S. Needs ‘Gigabit Communities.’ It starts off with an accurate observation… Walking the floor of the Consumer Electronics Show last week, I kept thinking of that line from Jaws, “You’re going to need a bigger boat.” All the Internet-connected, data-hungry gadgets that are coming to market … Read More
The Open Technology Institute at the New America Foundation has released a report on data caps in the U.S. The report, Capping the Nation’s Broadband Future, was authored by Hibah Hussain, Danielle Kehl, Benjamin Lennett, and Patrick Lucey. The paper looks at the growing prevalence of monthly data caps by massive ISPs like Time Warner Cable, AT&T, and … Read More
In 2007, the City of Amherst, Massachusetts received a $150,000 grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to build a wireless mesh network. DARPA and NSF have long been interested in developing mesh networks that are more resilient than traditional hub and spoke type networks. The City IT … Read More
In 2010, the Iowa Communications Network received a $16.2 million Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The project will connect all 99 counties in the state by upgrading an existing 3,000 mile network (PDF of the project summary). The state plans to bring 10 Gbps capacity points of presence to each county and to provide 1 Gbps … Read More
We are pleased to announce that an excerpt of our report, Chanute’s Gig: One Rural Kansas Community’s Tradition of Innovation Led to A Gigabit and Ubiquitous Wireless Coverage, is now highlighted in the newest Broadband Communities Magazine. The November/December 2012 issue focuses on economic development. Editors chose our report because it shows how a community can … Read More
Susan Crawford, author of the just-released Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age, is our guest for the 29th episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. A former adviser to President Obama, she has been a leading figure in the struggle to preserve an open Internet. Susan has long been … Read More
