AT&T Is Abandoning Tens of Thousands of American Households in the Deep South Who Have No Other Internet Access Option

Date: 8 Oct 2020 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

AT&T has stopped making connections to users subscribing to its DSL Internet as of October 1st. The most conservative number of those affected by the decision will be about 80,000 households that have no other option.… Read More

Kansas Cooperative To Provide Internet Access to Rural Residents

Date: 11 Oct 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

City Officials in Fort Scott, Kansas, located about 95 miles south of Kansas City, say that they haven’t been able to entice national providers to bring high-quality Internet access to their town of about 8,000 people. That may be a good thing — Craw-Kan Telephone Cooperative is building out fiber in Fort Scott as early as 2019.… Read More

A Kansas Electric Cooperative Offers Energy Savings with $0 Down – Episode 32 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

Date: 6 Apr 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

On-bill financing is not new. The Tennessee Valley Authority has offered it for years. More recently, numerous municipal utilities and electric cooperatives have created programs. But Midwest Energy, on the prairies of western Kansas, might have the best track record.

Brian Dreiling, manager of energy services at Midwest Energy, shared his utility’s story with Local Energy Rules this week, explaining the on-bill program, what makes it successful, and how an investment in the member-owner’s home is an investment in the utility.… Read More

Campaign Finance Questions Arise Over Controversial Internet Bill

Date: 26 Feb 2016 | posted in: MuniNetworks, Press Release | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 26, 2016 CONTACT: Rebecca Toews, rebecca@ILSR.org, (612)808-0689  Campaign Finance Questions Arise Over Controversial Internet Bill After cutting a sizable donation to the Missouri Republican Party, AT&T’s bill to limit broadband competition from community networks is moving through the house. Just months after AT&T cut a $20,000 check to the House Republican Campaign Committee, Representative Lyndall Fraker … Read More

Chanute City Commission Approves FTTH Plan

Date: 20 Jun 2014 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Chanute City Commission decided on June 9th to take the next step to bring ftth to the community; Commissioners voted unanimously to pursue and finalize funding to deploy a municipal network. The City’s current fiber network provides connectivity to schools, hospitals, electric utility and municipal facilities, the local college, and several businesses. Chanute has worked since … Read More

Plan for FTTH in Chanute Looking Positive in Kansas

Date: 6 Jun 2014 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Chanute has been exploring available options for a citywide FTTH network. In addition to offering residential service, city leaders want to expand the business use of its municipal fiber network. A limited number of businesses currently join schools, government, and utilities on the fiber infrastructure. The community incrementally built a fiber network to serve government, utilities, … Read More

In Kansas, Chanute Explores FTTH Options

Date: 21 May 2014 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Last December, we reported on Chanute’s decision to move forward with plans for a FTTH network. The community has a fiber and wireless network in place that serves utilities, public facilities such as libraries and schools, and several businesses. The network also provides free Wi-Fi across the community. As we discussed in our 2012 case study, Chanute … Read More

Midwest Solar Market: Hot or Not?

Date: 19 May 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Is solar ready to boom in the Midwest, or does poor policy still stand in the way? This presentation by Institute for Local Self-Reliance Director of Democratic Energy John Farrell to the Midwest Solar Expo on May 16, 2014, explores the potential, the economics, and the policy needed to help solar power the Midwest. Download the … Read More

GovTech Reports on Broadband Legislation in Five States

Date: 23 Apr 2014 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Broadband is a topic of interest in several state legislative chambers this session. In a recent Government Technology article, Brian Heaton focused on five states where community broadband is particularly contentious. In some cases, legislators want to expand opportunities while others seek to limit local authority. We introduced you to the Kansas anti-competition bill in January. The … Read More

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