Community Broadband Media Roundup - March 7
Connecticut
Connecticut high-speed Internet: Public or private utility? by John Dankosky & Tucker Ives, WNPR
Kentucky
Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
News
Nevada Electric Coop Gets Fiber, Creates Jobs
A growing number of electric coops are providing Internet access to residents and businesses in areas of the country where big providers don't offer services. It’s not a big leap because many electric coops already use fiber for communication between electric substations. Expanding in order to offer high quality Internet access is a logical next step.
Albany, New York Studying Internet Access Needs
The city of Albany, New York (pop. 100,000) recently hired a consulting firm to study the high-speed Internet needs of the community, including possibly the municipality building its own fiber optic network.
New Report on Digital Inclusion from Sesame Workshop
A recent report by Victoria Rideout and Vikki S. Katz from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at the Sesame Workshop delves into detail on the experiences of lower income families and Internet access. The report, “Opportunity for all?
Ting's Next Stop Greater Sandpoint, Idaho
Ting has chosen the Greater Sandpoint, Idaho, region as its next Internet access service area.
Congrats to FreeUTOPIA for Victory In Utah
Jesse Harris over at FreeUTOPIA is noting an important shift in the discussions and controversies that surround Utah’s UTOPIA open access network. For starters, as the network is increasingly showing signs of financial success, he’s noticing that critics of the network have gone silent.
Digital Northwest Broadband Summit: March 20 - 21, 2016 in Seattle
Next Century Cities (NCC) is hosting Digital Northwest: A Broadband Summit for Regional Broadband Leaders at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle, Washington. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is co-hosting the event.
Springfield, Massachusetts Introducing Free Downtown Wifi Plus New Dark Fiber Capacity
Starting this spring, the City of Springfield, Massachusetts will offer free municipal Wi-Fi and new dark fiber capacity to a 7-block area of the city’s downtown known as the “Springfield Innovation District.”
Community Broadband Media Roundup - February 29
Alabama
Google Fiber joins forces with municpal broadband network by Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica
Ammon, Idaho Preparing for FTTH Expansion
Officials in the City of Ammon, Idaho, are moving closer to expanding their municipal network to residents with a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network. The FTTH expansion is the latest phase in their incremental approach in this community of 14,500 people in the southeast corner of Idaho.
Missouri's HB 2078 Advances
Dear Readers: Since I first wrote this story with my attempt to analyze this bill, I have revisited my earlier interpretation. If you read this bill analysis before, you will notice some changes.
Not Nuclear Power, but the Power of Connectivity in Vernon, Vermont
Vernon, Vermont, is a little town in search of a boost to the local economy.
Monday, Feb. 29th: New Report, Webinar from Next Century Cities & WifiForward
Next Century Cities and WifiFoward will present the results of new research on wireless technologies. The report (to be released on February 29, 2016) provides a detailed analysis of LTE-U and Wi-Fi in the context of local governments.
Nebraska Network Begins To Grow In Lincoln Conduit
Approximately 30,000 businesses and residential properties in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, will have access to gigabit Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) by the end of 2016.
Community Broadband Media Roundup - February 23
Alabama
Montgomery launches first city-owned Internet exchange point in Alabama by Colin Wood, GovTech
Kentucky
Muni Network in Huntsville Draws Google Fiber
Huntsville Utilities and Google Fiber announced today that the utility will construct a dark fiber network and that Google Fiber will offer services to the community via the city's new fiber infrastructure investment.
MN Coop to Rural Schools: Have A Gig, No Extra Charge
Minnesota's Paul Bunyan Communications' is bringing better connectivity to homes and businesses across northern rural Minnesota via fiber. The cooperative is also helping local school districts save precious dollars while obtaining the Internet access kids need for a 21st century education.
Durango's Dark Fiber Fosters Wi-Fi Freebie
Last fall, Durango joined a number of other Colorado communities that voted to reclaim local telecommunications authority. This January, the city began using its fiber resources to partner with a private provider and offer free Wi-Fi along the downtown corridor.
New Report, Webinars, on Public-Private Partnerships From CLIC and Benton Foundation
As communities across the country realize the big corporate providers may never bring the kind of connectivity they need, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are sprouting up everywhere. A new report by Joanne Hovis, Marc Schulhof, Jim Baller, and Ashley Stelfox, takes a look at the issues facing local governments and their private sector partners.
Boston Globe: Build A Muni
The Editorial Board from the Boston Globe recently kicked off a series titled "The Cutting Edge of the Common Good." The editors intend to offer suggestions for how to create a prosperous city through ideas to benefit Boston's 4.7 million residents.