Daily Yonder, October 22, 2012 Chanute, Kansas, two hours from Tulsa, Joplin, and Kansas City, is home to about 9,100 people. As has been true in much of the rural U.S., existing telephone and cable companies were slow to upgrade broadband service here. But local leaders decided broadband was too important to wait for and embarked … Read More
In 1881, Clara Barton started the American Red Cross as a way to offer relief to victims of disaster. Coordinating relief in the face of crisis will always be challenging, but now UTOPIA, the publicly owned, open access FTTH network in Utah, makes it easier and more economical. The change will allow the regional Red Cross … Read More
What happens when economies of scale are taken to ridiculous proportions? The wretched customer service of Comcast, AT&T, Etc. We recently had to move our Institute for Local Self-Reliance office within Minneapolis due to our old building being razed shortly for student condos. Given the paucity of choices, we are stuck with Comcast as our ISP … Read More
A last mile broadband project in Taos, New Mexico, encountered a temporary snag and appears to be back on track. The situation highlights the potential conflict created between federal and state entities. State officials acted to show their support and now expect the project to continue. Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) was awarded a $45 million … Read More
What will we be talking about that the National Conference for Media Reform in Denver, April 5-7 of 2013? Lots of things, but let’s make sure Community Networks are on the agenda! The National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR) is a great gathering of enthusiastic people who want to build a better media that reflect the … Read More
Sandy has run a wireless network for over eight years and has just announced a partnership with i3 to bring FTTH to everyone using i3’s technology to run trunk fiber lines through existing waste water and storm water pipes. We previously wrote about Sandy here. Joe Knapp, the IT Director for the city of Sandy and … Read More
Citywide Internet will soon be available as a monthly service in Port Angeles on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Mayor Cherie Kidd, Police Chief Terry Gallagher, and Councilwoman Brooke Nelson participated in a ceremonial “cable cutting” event last week. The event was to celebrate the new network, nicknamed “The Mesh.” Arwyn Rice, of the Olympic Peninsula Daily News … Read More
Not long ago, we brought you news about the status of the new network being constructed in Carroll County, Maryland. The County is partnering with local Maryland Broadband Cooperative to provide better service to local businesses. Earlier this week, Brett Lake of the Carroll County Times reported that Westminster, a town of about 18,000 residents in … Read More
On September 19th, the Urbana Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) hosted “Models for Building Local Broadband: Public, Private, Coop, Nonprofit.” Christopher Mitchell was one of several panelists who discussed local broadband options and challenges. The presentors live streamed to 138 attendees with 93 watching remotely various locations and 45 at the Media Center. If you were … Read More
