News

Bristol Gets Stimulus Funds for Middle Mile and Starts Smart Grid

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jul 14, 2010

Bristol Virginia is again expanding broadband access in rural Virginia. Following a $22.7 million BTOP (broadband stimulus) grant and matching $5.7 million grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission, in combination with in-kind contributions from the Virginia Department of Transportation, BVU will greatly expand middle-mile broadband throughout 8 counties in Southwest Virginia.

10 Years Later - Tacoma and LaGrange

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jul 12, 2010

In January 2001, or about 1 million years ago in tech time, Site Selection Online published "Wired Cities: Working-Class Communities Build Next Frontier of High-Speed Connectivity". I found it years ago when reading up on the Click!

No Moratorium in North Carolina ... For Now

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jul 12, 2010

Success! After a few nerve-wracking months, North Carolina's state government has decided not to preempt local communities from building the broadband infrastructure they need.

In Massachusetts, Wired West Builds Momentum

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jul 9, 2010

The end of June brought an end to an initial phase of the Wired West campaign for real broadband in rural Massachusetts. When we previously looked in on the Wired West efforts, they had 39 towns supporting the idea.

Broadband Properties on Muni Resurgence

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jul 8, 2010

The May/June issue of Broadband Properties has a number of articles about muni broadband networks, including one in Canada - Bruce Telecom.

In North Carolina, Wilson Sets the Record Straight

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jul 6, 2010

What do you do when the media gets key facts about your community network wrong? Set the record straight! This blog post from the Public Affairs Manager in the city of Wilson, North Carolina, demonstrates a good response to errors in an article.

Warwick, Massachusetts Builds Community Wireless Network

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jul 2, 2010

While researching the Wired West Network in rural Massachusetts, I learned about another community broadband network. The little town of Warwick built a wireless network for itself; the story behind it gives a glimpse into the ways that the federal approach to broadband really fails small communities.

The Great Telecom Rip-off

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 30, 2010

Bruce Kushnick, a telecom analyst, has long pushed for telcos to live up to the bargains they struck with individual states and federal agencies over the years as part of deregulation policies. They were deregulated and (surprisingly enough) failed to make good on their promises.

Wilson Wins Awards for Community Broadband Blog

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 29, 2010

Wilson has won two awards for communications due to its efforts on the Save North Carolina Broadband Blog. The city of Wilson's public power utility built a citywide FTTH network called Greenlight.

Lafayette Editorial Notes Increased Competition Due to Community Broadband

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 28, 2010

In an editorial about the LUS Fiber lawsuit against NCTC, the local Lafayette paper made the following observation:

We've had our own reservations about LUS Fiber to the Home, base

In Wisconsin, Residents beg for broadband

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 24, 2010

The private sector is not going to expand broadband to everyone.

Cedar Falls, Iowa, Upgrading Cable Network to FTTH

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 23, 2010

Cedar Falls, Iowa, is the latest of a number of publicly owned cable networks that are upgrading to FTTH. Cedar Falls has been planning this for some time, squirreling away net income over the years as it ran surpluses to help afford the costly upgrade.

Cities Take On AT&T, Time Warner and Verizon

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 22, 2010

We have a piece published on Alternet about the battle to maintain an open Internet and proper access to it.

Two Kentucky Utilities Opt for FTTH

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 22, 2010

Some 10,000 households and businesses in rural Kentucky will soon have FTTH as Russellville and Barbourville have decided to make this long term investment to ensure their communities can take advantage of modern technology and communications. This

Understanding - and Rethinking - Broadband Regulation

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 21, 2010

Though we certainly support the FCC's reclassification of broadband to ensure companies like Comcast do not interfere with the open Internet, we focus on policy at the community level. We fully support the efforts of organizations and people in DC to work at the federal level.

Powell Buys FTTH Network From Itself, For Itself

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 21, 2010

Powell, a small community in Wyoming, has bought its own network from the investors who financed it [Powell Tribune], eighteen years ahead of schedule.

North East Los Angeles Internet Service Cooperative

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 20, 2010

While most of the information on this site is about broadband networks at a citywide level, there are a variety of groups that are working to supply broadband at the neighborhood level (often in large metro areas).

Minnesota County, Sibley, Considers FTTH Network

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 19, 2010

Sibley County plans to pay for half of a feasibility study (matching funds to be provided by Blandin Foundation) to examine FTTH possibility in this piece of rural Minnesota. It would connect cities, schools, and more, with services run by a cooperative.

Chattanooga Video Discusses Benefits of FTTH

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 18, 2010

A 2007 video from Chattanooga's Electric Power Board explaining the benefits of publicly owned fiber-optic infrastructure.

LaGrange Network in Georgia Serves Local Businesses

By

Christopher Mitchell

on Jun 17, 2010

The city of LaGrange has long been offering top-notch telecom services to local businesses. I just stumbled across this video describing their new colocation facilities. They are approaching 400 business customers and serve the local cellular towers. They do not provide residential services.

This video is no longer available.