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About Christopher

Christopher Mitchell is the Director of the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. He runs MuniNetworks.org as part of ILSR's effort to ensure broadband networks are directly accountable to the communities that depend upon them. More

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susan-crawford-discusses-captive-audience-at-berkman-center
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Dec 22, 2012

Susan Crawford Discusses Captive Audience at Berkman Center

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/susan-crawford-discusses-captive-audience-berkman-center

Susan Crawford’s new book, Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry & Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age, looks to be an excellent read for anyone regularly perusing this site. It is becoming available at bookstores near you. (For why we discourage buying from Amazon, see our Amazon Infographic.) Susan did a one hour presentation at… Continue reading

community-broadband-bits-26-josh-wallace-palo-alto
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Dec 18, 2012

Community Broadband Bits 26 – Josh Wallace, Palo Alto

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-bits-26-josh-wallace-palo-alto

This week, Josh Wallace from the City of Palo Alto Utilities joins us to talk about the City’s dark fiber network for episode 26 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Josh describes how the dark fiber network connects businesses, offering incredibly high capacity connections at affordable flat rate pricing. The utility charges an upfront fee… Continue reading

christopher-mitchell-on-gigabit-nation-today
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Dec 18, 2012

Christopher Mitchell on Gigabit Nation Today

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/christopher-mitchell-gigabit-nation-today

I am going to be on Gigabit Nation today with Craig Settles, a live call-in show, from 2-3 Eastern time. You can listen online here both during the show and after, when the recording will be made available. Listen to internet radio with cjspeaks on Blog Talk Radio Craig put together this summary: Local governments’… Continue reading

support-us-with-year-end-donation
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Dec 11, 2012

Support Us With Year End Donation

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/support-us-year-end-donation

“I think you guys are on to something and understand better than anyone else about what I was talking about, about closing the leaks of equity out of our communities. I thank you for all of the diverse work that you’ve done.” – Bill Moyer, executive director of the Backbone Campaign As a reader of… Continue reading

community-broadband-bits-25-dewayne-hendricks-returns
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Dec 11, 2012

Community Broadband Bits 25 – Dewayne Hendricks Returns

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-bits-25-dewayne-hendricks-returns

Dewayne Hendricks has returned for his second appearance on the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, continuing our discussion about the potential for wireless technologies to improve how we access the Internet. We recommend listening to his first appearance in episode 18 before this one. Here, we take up the old wired vs. wireless debate, but quickly… Continue reading

lafayette-republicans-and-democrats-joined-forces-for-fiber
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Dec 10, 2012

Lafayette Republicans and Democrats Joined Forces for Fiber

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/lafayette-republicans-and-democrats-joined-forces-fiber

Earlier this year, we published a case study that examined the LUS Fiber network and its origins. In it, we noted that both Republicans and Democrats backed the plan but here we focus on their resolutions in support. Back in early 2005, Lafayette was preparing for a referendum on whether the city owned utility should… Continue reading

Wilson Gives Greenlight to Fast Internet
Article, Resource filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | 1 Comment | Updated on Dec 5, 2012

Report: Community Network Leads North Carolina to Fast Internet Future

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/wilson-fiber-greenlight/

Following the collapse of key industries, a town of 50,000 in eastern North Carolina had to make a hard choice. It wanted to support existing businesses and attract new ones but the cable and telephone companies were not interested in upgrading their networks for cutting edge capacity. So Wilson decided to build its own fiber… Continue reading

charter-losing-money-cuts-customer-support
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Dec 5, 2012

Charter Losing Money, Cuts Customer Support

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/charter-losing-money-cuts-customer-support

A Stop the Cap! story about Charter cutting customer service positions makes a point we make too rarely. Not that customer service from the national cable and telephone companies is terrible and getting worse, but that some are constantly struggling to make a profit. Investors don’t think too highly of the company either. Charter reported… Continue reading

community-broadband-bits-24-dr-browder-of-bristol-tennessee
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Dec 4, 2012

Community Broadband Bits 24 – Dr Browder of Bristol, Tennessee

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-bits-24-dr-browder-bristol-tennessee

Dr Browder runs Bristol Tennessee Essential Services, the municipal utility on the southern side of Bristol’s Virginia border. For our 24th Community Broadband Bits podcast, he tells us how they built a FTTH network and how it has helped the community. Like so many others, they started by seeking to ensure maximum reliability of the… Continue reading

rural-california-farms-need-fiber-to-be-fertile
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Dec 3, 2012

Rural California Farms Need Fiber to be Fertile

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/rural-california-farms-need-fiber-be-fertile

In yet another reminder that fiber optics and wireless are complementary, not substitutes, we just read about rural California farms needing better telecommunications that the big companies have refused to provide. This article offers a good introduction to why farms need access to the Internet. Modern farming takes advantage of gains in communications technology –… Continue reading