Last fall, the northern Minnesota community of Ely took up a feasibility study to determine the possibilities of better connectivity with publicly owned Internet infrastructure. They also wanted to explore local interest in investment. After conducting a survey and reviewing the situation, local officials are contemplating moving ahead with two pilot projects.… Read More
The city of Ammon, Idaho, has used its open access publicly owned network to create an environment that encourages competition for residents and businesses. In addition to giving them control over which services they use and which companies they patronize, the city is doing its best to share information. In this video, the Ammon Fiber Optic Utility explains information financing for those who decide to connect to the network.… Read More
Rural communities seeking better broadband have options beyond big telecom.
This past August, the residents of the Republican-leaning Michigan town of Lyndon Township overwhelmingly voted to raise their property taxes. What spurred this rural community to violate the core Republican tenant of minimal taxation?
Lack of high-speed internet access.… Read More
When the San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative (SLVREC) decided to invest in fiber for more efficient electrical operations, they also took the first step toward improving Internet access for residents and businesses in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. The cooperative is building a network for both members and local nonmembers in some of Colorado’s least populated and worst connected areas.
In a series of decisions, Loveland, Colorado’s City Council voted earlier this week to take the next step toward developing a municipal broadband network. In addition to allocating funds to develop a business plan, city leadership established an advisory board, accepted task force recommendations, and voted to amended current code to allow the electric utility to handle communications activities.… Read More
In West Plains, Missouri a “citizens group” astroturfing the possibility of municipal fiber infrastructure investment was revealed to be… *gasp* the incumbent cable ISP in the community. … Read More
Rural electric cooperatives are laying fiber in South-Central Indiana, this is how the connecting of rural America is happening, thanks to cooperatives.… Read More
Updated Community Networks Map now includes over 750 communities. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s map details the communities that are making investments in better connectivity providing the opportunity for other communities to build their own Internet infrastructure.… Read More
Lake Region Electric Cooperative offers FTTH service to more than 1,000 homes in the rural communities around the city of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. As with electrification, the cooperative is once again providing a much needed utility where no private company would go. This is the internetification of rural America.… Read More
