MPR News recently ran two stories on the trials and tribulations of new and prospective broadband networks. Conrad Wilson’s story about the continuing Monticello drama and Jennifer Vogel’s account of factors affecting the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) projects give us a good idea of the many hurdles in the way of building new fiber-optic … Read More
Here at muninetworks.org, we continually see instances of state government preempting rights of local government to make their own decisions on broadband. It was no surprise to us to read Josh Goodman’s recent Stateline.org article, GOP Legislatures Try to Limit Local Government’s Power. Goodman takes a look at a disturbing trend in the relationships between local … Read More
Alcatel-Lucent, one of the key vendors behind the Chattanooga community fiber network, has produced a video highlighting life in a “smart” city.
A little less than a year ago, the 88th Arkansas General Assembly created HB 2033, later known as Act 1050 [pdf]. The law made a few changes to the Telecommunications Regulatory Reform Act of 1…… Read More
Minnesota Public Radio, March 26, 2012 When the city of Monticello started providing broadband service in late 2010, advocates hailed it as a model for bringing new technology to an underserved region. Fiber optic lines were making Internet access as fast as anywhere in the state. ILSR’s Christopher Mitchell comments on the issue of overall broadband … Read More
The Open Technology Initiative’s Dispatches from the Digital Frontier blog originally published this story by Preston Rhea about his experience working with some neighbors to build their own wireless network in Mount Pleasant in Washington, DC. We hope it inspires others. If you are not yet familiar with Mount Pleasant, here’s a chance to learn about … Read More
Given the high profile network neutrality and even higher profile SOPA/PIPA fights, we are starting to see more interest from filmmakers and documentarians to explore the Internet, access to th…… Read More
In an attempt to regain some of its Silicon Valley shine, San Jose, California is taking another run at municipal Wi-Fi. The city hopes that by covering a 1.5 square mile block of downtown with fast, robust wireless Internet access, it will become more attractive to the technology entrepreneurs who have, in recent years, been more … Read More
In past reporting, we have briefly discussed Pend Orielle PUD’s efforts at filling the broadband service gap in rural areas. People living in rural areas, while possibly needing connecti…… Read More
