Fort Wayne, Indiana: What Happens When You Beg
For years, I have heard Graham Richards, former mayor of Fort Wayne Indiana, brag about this "beg, borrow, buy, build" [pdf] philosophy as Mayor.
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Frontier Forces FUD on Cities in Sibley: Sibley Responds
The fiber-to-the-farm initiative in Sibley County, Minnesota, has completed the feasibility study and the towns involved are discussing a Joint Powers Agreement.
The Burlington Telecom Mess in Perspective: a Letter to the Community
We are posting another perspective about Burlington Telecom, this time from Tom Streeter, a Professor of Sociology at UVM and author of Selling the Air, The Net Effect and other
Qwest Renews Push to Gut Local Authority over Cable Television
It's 2011 and time for Qwest to renew a push to gut local authority in a number of states - Idaho and Colorado to start. An article for the Denver Post explains the argument:
Leo Laporte and Bob Frankston: The Past and Future of the Internet
Big cable and phone carriers want to take credit for what the Internet has become -- but they never wanted it to be open. Smart decisions behind the scenes by people like Bob Frankston have allowed the open Internet to flourish despite the big carriers.
Gotta Love that Efficient, Competitive Broadband Market
As previously noted on both Fiber Evolution and Joho the Blog, Brough Turner (creator of netBlazr) created a slide showing the state of broadband competition in
Dave Burstein Reflects on FCC Policy
Dave Burstein of DSL Prime is interviewed on a recent episode of America's Report on TelecomTV.
Welcome, Mitch Shapiro
MuniNetworks.org is happy to welcome a new contributor to the site, Mitch Shapiro. Mitch will author pieces from time to time, the start of our efforts to broaden the contributions to and reach of MuniNetworks.org.
Chattanooga's Approach to Connecting Customers
Just how does the largest citywide community fiber network in the country deal with the thousands of people that want to subscribe? It is a daunting task, but the Times Free Press has an answer: a carefully scripted process.
A Solution to Burlington Telecom’s Woes: Subscribe!
Greg Eplerwood has chaired the two Burlington Telecom citizens' oversight committees and has paid closer to attention to BT than just about anyone. He submitted this opinion piece to us as well as shorter versions to local media in Burlington.
Tired of Dealing with Bad Customer Service? Get Even...
Though we in the U.S. often praise the policies in Europe that have given them faster speeds, lower prices, and actual choices in the market, the reality is that some of their companies have just as bad customer service as what we have to deal with from massive incumbent providers. This video features an incredible prank, forcing an offending company to deal with terrible customer service.
The Economist Again Blasts US Anti-Competitive Telecom Policy
The Economist has again editorialized about US telecom policy, in this case specifically about network neutrality.
This debate is loudest in America, uncoincidentally the developed market with the least competitive market in internet access.
Sibley County Discusses Joint Powers Agreement for Rural Fiber-to-the-Farm
Last night, local officials from all over Sibley County gathered in Arlington to learn about the potential fiber-to-the-farm broadband network they could build as early as 2012.
Defending Public Access on the Television Channels
The trend of more people subscribing to broadband as well as cable incumbents (also AT&T with U-Verse) wage war on local public access television stations, some have been questioning whether we even need PEG channels on the television anymore. We do.
Wired West Towns Start Joining Broadband Coop
A group of towns in rural western Massachusetts, having already decided on a cooperative structure, have now started the process of joining the coop in order to eventually build an open access FTTH network to serve everyone in ea
FCC Survey: 80% of Schools/Libraries Have Insufficient Broadband Connections
The Federal Communications Commission released the results of a survey of libraries and schools, the 2010 E-Rate Program and Broadband Usage Survey - announcement here [pdf] and full report here [pdf].
Medina County Bonds for Network in Partnership with OneCommunity
The Port Authority of Medina County, Ohio, has successfully bonded $14.4 million to take advantage of a broadband stimulus award to build a fiber-optic network connecting community anchor institutions and businesses with better broadband.
Update from Lake County Fiber Project (Minnesota)
New Update: Mediacom has invented language in the Joint Power Agreement and threatened the Mayors of Silver Bay and Two Harbors. Let's see how dirty Mediacom will get to prevent competition.
Problem of Scale Hurts Frontier with FiOS
Frontier has been bitten by the same disadvantage many communities face when building their own networks -- little market power means having to overpay for everything. When Frontier bought millions of Verizon rural lines, it bought a few FiOS connections as well. But not enough to gain any bargaining power with channel owners.
Customer Service From National Carriers is Terrible
Though it is rarely, if ever, the top motivation for a community to build its own broadband network, the idea of local customer service that is actually responsive to the community ranks usually among the top 5 motivations. We love the idea of a "strangle effect" -- coined by folks at Wilson's Greenlight in North Carolina.