18 May 2018

“Dividing Lines” Docu-Series Shows the Reality of Rotten Rural Connectivity

by | Date: 18 May 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

If you have fast, affordable, reliable Internet access, there’s a good chance you don’t live in rural America. With the exception of areas served by local municipal networks, cooperatives, and a few small independent ISPs, businesses and residents in rural areas suffer along with aging, slow, and often expensive connections. In a docu-series by Maria L. Smith, titled “Dividing Lines,” viewers get the opportunity to hear firsthand what it’s like for people who live in places where there is no high-quality connectivity. … Read More
16 May 2018

As the US Senate Considers Net Neutrality Today our Maps Show Millions at Risk

by | Date: 16 May 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

It’s May 16th and today is the day the Senate will vote on whether or not to reverse last December’s repeal of network neutrality rules by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and other Republican FCC Commissioners. As a reminder, we thought this was a good day to pull out the maps we created that illustrate how that decision to repeal the federal policy put at least 177 million Americans at risk. … Read More
15 May 2018

Community Broadband Bits Podcast: Doug Dawson on 20 Years of Telecom Expertise

by and | Date: 15 May 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Doug Dawson and his firm, CCG Consulting, recently marked their 20th year working in the telecommunications industry. Prior to establishing the firm, Doug already had significant experience in the field, having worked in the industry since 1978. Doug belongs to a small cadre of professionals who have the technical expertise and policy knowledge to set them apart. While Christopher was at the Broadband Communities Summit in Austin, he was lucky enough to spend some time with Doug and the two talked about a broad range of topics for episode 306 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. … Read More
8 May 2018

In North-Central Ohio, Community Leaders Ask Voters to Approve Expansion of Municipal Fiber Network

by | Date: 8 May 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Hudson is like many other small cities, in that large national providers don’t see a justification for investing in fiber in non-urban residential areas. With a population of around 24,000, the community needs to remain competitive. Hudson began with fiber optic infrastructure to municipal facilities, which they built out incrementally over a period of about ten years. By 2015, they had started offering gigabit service to businesses, which have embraced the faster, more reliable service. By the fall of 2016, they were ready to issue an RFP for a feasibility study to examine a citywide Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network.… Read More
3 May 2018

Voters Approve Municipal Broadband in Small Iowa Town

by | Date: 3 May 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Looking at the Community Network Map, anyone can see that Iowa is filled with towns that have chosen to invest in publicly owned Internet infrastructure. On May 1st, the community of Pella took a step at the polls that will bring them a little closer to having a “pin” on our map. Ninety-two percent of those voting in the special election chose to authorize the City Council to establish a telecommunications utility.

Located in south central Iowa, Pella is about 40 miles south of Des Moines in Marion County. Pella Corporation and the Vermeer Manufacturing Company are the largest employers with Century College and the Pella Regional Health Center also retaining many people in the community. All of these large entities need fiber connectivity for different purposes.… Read More
1 May 2018

Innovative Nonprofit Announces Partners for Broadband Funding, Infrastructure Approach

by | Date: 1 May 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Co-founders of the Post Road Foundation, Waide Warner and Seth Hoedl, have decades of experience between them in law, policy, and leadership. Their areas of expertise span cyberlaw, government and finance, environmental law and policy, electricity, telecommunications and energy law and policy, nuclear physics, and the list goes on. Through their years of research and in consulting with both public and private entities, Warner and Hoedl both saw that many rural communities needed better connectivity for economic development, better quality of life, and to keep populations strong. They’ve also found that if local communities or cooperatives are able to use fiber optics to synergize multiple utilities, the community is resilient and more self-reliant.… Read More
27 Apr 2018

Rural Maine Towns Join Forces to Build Their Own Broadband Utility

by | Date: 27 Apr 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

There are about 3,000 residents in Calais (pronounced “Kal-iss”) and 1,500 in Baileyville, but according to Julie Jordan, Director of Downeast Economic Development Corporation (DEDC), many of those residents are aging and younger people find little reason to stay or relocate in Washington County. The community recognizes that they need to draw in new industries and jobs that will attract young families to keep the towns from fading off the map.… Read More
24 Apr 2018

Community Broadband Bits Podcast: State Legislatures are Taking Action on Broadband

by and | Date: 24 Apr 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

 This is episode 303(!) of our Community Broadband Bits podcast! Community Broadband Bits is a short weekly podcast featuring interviews with people building community networks or otherwise involved with Internet policy. We’re a little off kilter these days when it comes to state legislation. Typically, we spend our efforts helping local communities stave off bills to steal, … Read More

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