A bill making its way through the Colorado General Assembly is tackling one of the most effective tools that big incumbent ISPs use to secure their positions as monopoly Internet access providers – the right of first refusal. If HB 1099 passes, community leaders and advocates for a competitive broadband market will be able to put a chink in the monopoly armor. Other states may follow their lead.… Read More
As an increasing number of rural cooperatives make the decision to offer high-quality connectivity in their service areas, communities where local telephone and electric cooperatives already provide Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) are seeing benefits today. Paul Bunyan Communications, offering broadband in Minnesota’s northwest region, has lured a new employer who will bring at least 150 new jobs to the area.… Read More
The SEMO Electric Cooperative in southeastern Missouri recently announced that subscribers are hooked up and taking advantage of Fiber-to-the-Home in rural Scott County and in the towns of Miner, Advance, and Bloomfield. The co-op board saw that providing high-quality Internet access to was filling a demand that incumbents are not meeting, locals want, and assists the community.… Read More
Located about 15 miles northeast of Holland, the community of approximately 7,300 received a $1 million state grant to help pay for redevelopment in Hudsonville’s downtown. They’ve been working on the plan to make the area more walkable for more than 10 years in order to appeal to older residents and millennials. … Read More
Upgrade Cambridge is a newly-formed grassroots broadband group that seeks to address one of the highest concerns of citizens in the city: broadband access. The new group will be used as a way to share information and spread the word about their initiative for a publicly owned fiber optic network.… Read More
Last week we reported about the uncertain position that faced Washington ports might find themselves in, should they decide to bring better connectivity to the areas within and around their service areas. We are pleased to learn that the state legislature saw the light and chose to pass the bill without the proposed harmful Senate amendments. It’s good news, but the final bill isn’t ideal.… Read More
When residents and business owners completed a survey in 2013 as the community considered what route to take, 70 percent of respondents said that their current ISP did not meet their needs; 95 percent expressed an interest in alternative choices for Internet access. Since then, community leaders have hired a consultant to develop a feasibility study and Sharon Broadband Yes, a grassroots group advocating for a fiber network, has formed to educate the public.
The group is asking voters to pass a broadband bond proposal to allow the community to issue $4.9 million in general obligation bonds to fund a fiber optic network project. … Read More
A group of 13 communities in central Vermont decided to ask voters if they should combine their efforts to create a communications district that can address their woes on Internet connectivity by creating a regional fiber-optic network. By March 6th, twelve of thirteen communities who took up the proposal at Town Meeting passed it, and the thirteenth will address the subject in May.… Read More
Senator Janice Bowling has long been a champion for rural broadband in Tennessee. On March 6th, her bill SB 1045 came before the Tennessee Senate Commerce and Labor Committee and the members chose not to advance the bill. Once again, big telephone and cable company interests win out over the needs of rural Tennesseans.… Read More
