ILSR is following HB 282, restrictive legislation moving through the Georgia General Assembly. The bill would effectively end the ability for existing networks to expand. Communities considering investing in their own telecommunications networks would face almost insurmountable financial and practical hurdles. As the bill is heavily lobbied by incumbent telecom giants, local leaders make the trek … Read More
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance has released a new interactive map showcasing 342 community owned networks throughout the United States that serve local businesses and residents. The Community Internet Map is available at MuniNetworks.org/communitymap/… Read More
In response to the reintroduction of the Marketplace Fairness Act in the U.S. Senate today, Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance released the following statement.
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ILSR’s annual survey has found that independent businesses experienced solid revenue growth in 2012, buoyed in part by “buy local first” initiatives. But the survey also documented challenges facing independent businesses, most notably an increase in “showrooming” and competition from online retailers, tax and subsidy policies that favor their big competitors, difficulty obtaining loans, and a customer base still reeling from the recession.… Read More
After a city in North Carolina built a Fiber-to-the-Home network competing with Time Warner Cable, the cable giant successfully lobbied to take that decision away from other cities. The city of Wilson’s decision and resulting network was recently examined in a case study by Todd O’Boyle and Christopher Mitchell titled Carolina’s Connected Community: Wilson Gives Greenlight … Read More
Minneapolis, MN —Within a decade, more than 35 million buildings may be generating their own solar electricity (without subsidies) at prices lower than their utility offers, sufficient to power almost 10% of the country.
That’s the powerful headline from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s latest report, Commercial Rooftop Revolution. Despite the opportunity, utilities, regulators, and policy markers are largely unprepared for the surge of local solar power.
The report finds that while the economics of solar continue to improve, a number of unexpected barriers have arisen. Homes often need electrical upgrades and local governments struggle to keep up with permit requests. Utilities are also reluctant to give up their market dominance, enforcing antiquated rules about grid interconnection that can add significant expense, delay, or even kill projects entirely.… Read More
About a month ago, we launched our new podcast series – Community Broadband Bits! Each episode is a 10-15 minute interview with key people in the fascinating world of community broadband networks. You can subscribe via iTunes or stream it directly from our companion web site – Muninetworks.org Here is a list of the episodes … Read More
Martin County, Florida, is saving millions of dollars because it built a county-owned fiber optic network rather than continuing to lease connections from Comcast. ILSR’s latest report, Florida Fiber: Martin County Saves Big with Gigabit Network, reveals how Martin County transformed the threat of a near ten-fold cost increase for its telecom budget into cost savings … Read More
