A few weeks ago, Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society released a report that documents the achievements of Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E) Telecom, a municipal electric utility that now provides fiber-optic broadband Internet to local businesses in several western Massachusetts towns. The utility’s move into fiber-optics has led to municipal savings for the City … Read More
The community reaction to Longmont’s NextLight gigabit municipal fiber network in Colorado has been dramatic. They are seeing major take rates in the initial neighborhoods, driven in part by the opportunity for a $50/month gigabit connection if you take service within three months of it becoming available in the neighborhood. This week, Longmont Power & Communications … Read More
Erie County’s leadership recently decided it is time to get serious about publicly owned broadband infrastructure. The Erie County Legislature approved funding to engage a consultant for a feasibility study. Patrick B. Burke spearheaded the initiative, reports the county’s website. Burke stated: “Consumers, businesses, schools and government agencies need to have affordable and accessible high speed … Read More
Gig.U, a collaboration of more than 30 universities across the country has just released The Next Generation Network Connectivity Handbook: A guide for Community Leaders Seeking Affordable, Abundant Bandwidth. The handbook, published in association with the Benton Foundation, is available as a PDF online. One of the authors, Blair Levin, has been a guest several times … Read More
The Open Technology Institute (OTI) at the New America Foundation recently released its report on bandwidth caps. “Artificial Scarcity: How Data Caps Harm Consumers and Innovation” is the latest warning about an issue with grave implications. The PDF is now available to download. Last November, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) released a report [PDF] with serious … Read More
Westminster recently officially lit up the new fiber network with its partner Ting. They create several videos to record the event, including this montage of interviews with movers and shakers in the municipal network industry. The two partners announced their agreement earlier this year: the city will own the infrastructure and Ting will provide retail services … Read More
Community leaders in the city of Biloxi want to expand massive water and sewer infrastructure improvements to include broadband infrastructure. The City Attorney Gerald Blessey recently addressed members from the Leadership Gulf Coast group and during the speech he shared the idea to spread fiber throughout Biloxi. Mayor FoFo Gilich has already spoken with the Governor … Read More
Techwire, July 24, 2015 In Richmond, Calif., hundreds of low-income residents log on to the city’s free Wi-Fi network every day. The network was launched spring 2014 in the city’s Iron Triangle neighborhood through a $500,000 California Emerging Technology Fund grant. The city reports 300 to 400 devices have accessed the network consistently since launch, and … Read More
Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript to Episode 160 of Community Broadband Bits Episode with Brandon Bowersox Johnson and Levi Dinkla on the Urbana-Champaign Big Broadband network, open access, and their partnership with iTV-3. Listen to this episode here. 00:06: Brandon Bowersox Johnson: It was just a natural fit. And we’ve been thrilled to … Read More
