Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Knoxville Metro Pulse reporter Paige Hunton published a story last month about a common complaint from downtown residents and businesses - "Downtown Knoxville's Internet Access Kinda Sucks.
Westminster, Maryland, began public consideration for community broadband investment last fall and has now decided to "stick our toe in the water and see how it works." The Carroll County Times
In 2010, Silverton, Colorado, decided to build a fiber-optic loop for savings and better connectivity in rural San Juan County.
Our listening audience hears Chris Mitchell interview people every week for the Broadband Bits Podcast. Now it is time for the interviewer to become the interviewee.
Longmont, Colorado, kept its eye on the prize. City leaders' vision, to bring high-speed connectivity to residents, businesses, schools, libraries, and government facilities began many years ago and the community faced multiple challenges.
The Waverly City Council in Iowa recently voted 5-2 to establish a communications utility and to move ahead with a feasibility study.
The Town Council of Holly Springs, North Carolina, just voted to pursue municipal network infrastructure.
Princeton, Massachusetts, continues to move steadily forward with its municipal broadband initiative. We first reported on the community's plans in the Spring of 2012.
Victims of Sandy are still recovering from the killer storm that ripped through the east coast last year. Two places hardest hit by the "Frankenstorm" were Fire Island, New York and the Barrier Island in New Jersey. In addition to homes and property, residents lost phone and Internet communications when telephone wires went down. They are still waiting to be reconnected.
CapeNet is officially open throughout Cape Cod.
Wireless networks have been incredibly successful, from home Wi-Fi networks to the billions of mobile devices in use across the planet. So successful, in fact, that some have come to believe we no longer need wires.
More communities now embrace "dig once" policies to facilitate installation of future and current networks. The idea is to be mindful of trenching for transportation and utility projects and encourage collaboration between agencies. However, this is implemented in a variety of ways, some more effectively than others.
Not long ago, we learned about Nixa, Missouri, and a group of local entrepreneurs interested in a community owned network. In May, the City Council approved funding for a preliminary study to explore the possibilities for a municipal network. The study will cost $45,000.
Klint Finley from Wired.com joined a Media Consortium press call that our own Christopher Mitchell participated in regarding community owned networks, Google Fiber, and concerns about the future of Internet access.
In November 2012, Broadband Communities Magazine hosted the first of its Economic Development Conference Series in Danville, Virginia.
In March, Ketchum leaders hired Magellan Advisors to work with the city Broadband Strategic Planning Committee to create a plan to address the lack of high-speed Internet, especially in the downtown area.
The newly completed Medina County Fiber Network (MCFN) in Ohio will soon add Medina County government as the next customer.
Good news for Vermonters who want connectivity from the East Central Vermont Fiber Optic Network (ECFiber). The community owned network recently raised another $430,000 from local investors who purchased tax-exempt promissory notes. As a result, the nonprofit can now expand another 20 miles.
