3 May 2018

Voters Approve Municipal Broadband in Small Iowa Town

by | Date: 3 May 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Looking at the Community Network Map, anyone can see that Iowa is filled with towns that have chosen to invest in publicly owned Internet infrastructure. On May 1st, the community of Pella took a step at the polls that will bring them a little closer to having a “pin” on our map. Ninety-two percent of those voting in the special election chose to authorize the City Council to establish a telecommunications utility.

Located in south central Iowa, Pella is about 40 miles south of Des Moines in Marion County. Pella Corporation and the Vermeer Manufacturing Company are the largest employers with Century College and the Pella Regional Health Center also retaining many people in the community. All of these large entities need fiber connectivity for different purposes.… Read More
2 May 2018

When You Can’t Trust the Data, Flaws in the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Forms

by | Date: 2 May 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

At the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, we analyze data and explore public policies to empower local communities. Our initiative staff work on varied issues from composting to broadband, but all these issues affect our daily lives and our communities. In the Community Broadband Networks Initiative, we often analyze high-speed Internet service availability using the best data that is publicly available. Some of this data, however, is inaccurate, outdated, and misconstrued.… Read More
1 May 2018

Innovative Nonprofit Announces Partners for Broadband Funding, Infrastructure Approach

by | Date: 1 May 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Co-founders of the Post Road Foundation, Waide Warner and Seth Hoedl, have decades of experience between them in law, policy, and leadership. Their areas of expertise span cyberlaw, government and finance, environmental law and policy, electricity, telecommunications and energy law and policy, nuclear physics, and the list goes on. Through their years of research and in consulting with both public and private entities, Warner and Hoedl both saw that many rural communities needed better connectivity for economic development, better quality of life, and to keep populations strong. They’ve also found that if local communities or cooperatives are able to use fiber optics to synergize multiple utilities, the community is resilient and more self-reliant.… Read More
30 Apr 2018

Work With ILSR, Help Us Build Strong Local Economies

by | Date: 30 Apr 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

This Spring, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance is looking to continue to fill out its dynamic team and advance the work of supporting local economies. We are looking to replace two of our full-time staff positions as some current staffers leave for graduate school. See the details for our Communications Manager position and our Community Broadband Networks initiative research associate, below. We are also looking to fill a part-time (to possibly full-time) Community Broadband Networks initiative policy and mapping intern position.… Read More
27 Apr 2018

Rural Maine Towns Join Forces to Build Their Own Broadband Utility

by | Date: 27 Apr 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

There are about 3,000 residents in Calais (pronounced “Kal-iss”) and 1,500 in Baileyville, but according to Julie Jordan, Director of Downeast Economic Development Corporation (DEDC), many of those residents are aging and younger people find little reason to stay or relocate in Washington County. The community recognizes that they need to draw in new industries and jobs that will attract young families to keep the towns from fading off the map.… Read More
24 Apr 2018

Community Broadband Bits Podcast: State Legislatures are Taking Action on Broadband

by and | Date: 24 Apr 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

 This is episode 303(!) of our Community Broadband Bits podcast! Community Broadband Bits is a short weekly podcast featuring interviews with people building community networks or otherwise involved with Internet policy. We’re a little off kilter these days when it comes to state legislation. Typically, we spend our efforts helping local communities stave off bills to steal, … Read More
24 Apr 2018

Detailing the Urban-Rural Digital Divide in Georgia

by | Date: 24 Apr 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

At the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, we create maps analyzing publicly available data to show disparities in access and highlight possible solutions. We’ve recently taken an in-depth look at Georgia and want to share our findings with two revealing maps. According to the FCC’s 2018 Broadband Deployment Report, 29.1 percent of the state’s rural population lacks broadband access, but only 3 percent of the urban population shares the same problem. Cooperatives and small municipal networks are making a difference in several of these rural communities.… Read More
19 Apr 2018

Tiny Massachusetts Town Takes a Stand for Local Internet Access

by | Date: 19 Apr 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

With only around 500 residents in Alford, it’s no surprise that big incumbents decided the lack of population density didn’t justify investment in 21st century connectivity. By 2012 and 2013, the community had had enough; they decided to pursue their own solution with a municipal network. Alford voted to form a Municipal Light Plant (MLP), the entity that that manages publicly owned networks in Massachusetts.… Read More
17 Apr 2018

Colorado Community Moves Toward Fiber for its Future Despite Monopoly Interference

by | Date: 17 Apr 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In the wake of an enormous and well-funded disinformation campaign by Comcast, Fort Collins’ grassroots broadband growth is taking steps to improve connectivity for its residents. The city is openly asking for input from its residents because they know that local authority is better than distant companies controlling their future.… Read More

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