On November 8th, 2016, 26 Colorado cities and counties joined 69 of their fellow communities in opting out of the restrictive, anti-municipal broadband state law, SB 152. For years, we at ILSR have been covering the developments in Colorado as voters reclaim local telecommunications authority. The media, both locally and nationally, took notice of our efforts.… Read More
In early November, voters in 26 additional Colorado communities chose to opt out of SB 152. The state’s restrictive law took away local telecommunications authority in 2005. The results in many of the towns and counties were overwhelming majorities – loud and clear in favor of local authority. Now, 95 local communities across the state have … Read More
With Google Fiber ramping down, San Francisco is going ahead alone. Our own Christopher Mitchell was quoted in the Los Angeles Times on his thoughts about the move.… Read More
In this episode, Chris Mitchell, the director of our Community Broadband Networks initiative, interviews Lisa Gonzalez, Senior Researcher for the Community Broadband Networks initiative about the recent election and what it means for municipal broadband networks across the nation. In this podcast, Gonzalez delves into the election results coming out of Colorado regarding the two dozen communities who voted to reclaim their broadband connectivity future. 26 additional Colorado cities and counties opted out of a restrictive, cable monopoly-supported state law, passed in 2005, that prevents these entities from providing service or partnering with the private sector.… Read More
The Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS) plans to save $150,000 per year by investing in its own fiber infrastructure. Over a 20-year period school officials expect to save approximately $3 million. Fiber For Education And Savings MCPS will be the first in the state to self-provision its wide area network (WAN), the connections between district facilities. … Read More
In the wake of the Tuesday election, 26 separate Colorado communities voted to reclaim their local authority over broadband networks bringing the grand total of communities that have opted out of the restrictive 2005 law, SB152, to 95. Below you can watch the segment of the show regarding this vote, however, the entire show is available at the YouTube link below.… Read More
We didn’t need a crystal ball, magic potion, or ESP to predict that local Colorado voters would enthusiastically reclaim telecommunications authority yesterday. Twenty-six more local governments put the issue on the ballot and citizens fervently replied, “YES! YES, WE DO!” Colorado local communities that want to take action to improve their local connectivity are hogtied by … Read More
Much like the the bone-chilling flicks celebrating eerie entertainment that dwells in the depths of our dark imaginations, monster cable and DSL Internet service providers strike terror in the hearts of subscribers…if they survive. Mesmerizing fees, hair-raising customer service, and shockingly slow connections can drive one to the brink of madness. In celebration of Halloween 2016, … Read More
Google Fiber has finally announced its plans for the future after weeks of dramatic speculation that it will lay off half its workforce and give up on fiber-optics entirely. Google has now confirmed our expectations: they are pausing new Google Fiber cities, continuing to expand within those where they have a presence, and focusing on approaches … Read More
