Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
At the beginning of the year, our Community Broadband Networks team visited North Carolina as part of the Let’s Connect speaking tour. While preparing for the trip and after returning to Minnesota, we researched and mapped Internet access and broadband funding in the state.
About four years ago, city commissioners in the community of Chanute, Kansas, stepped back from plans to finance a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) project. At the time, newly elected city leaders decided not to pursue the project, but Chanute once again has fiber on their list of priorities.
Ferry County, located in the eastern region of Washington and along the northern border, recently released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a Broadband Consultant. Responses are due July 12th, 2019.
Trees Abound, Broadband Absent
California
Federal Communications Commission, Congress spar over San Francisco broadband law by Sophia Kunthara, San Francisco Chronicle
The lakes and forests of Aitkin County in northern Minnesota make it an ideal location for a vacation home, but poor connectivity has historically limited days spent at the cabin to weekends and holidays.
The Office of Broadband Development (OBD) at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) recently released a call for Border to Border Broadband grant applications. The deadline to submit your application is September 13, 2019.
When considering Independence Day, the Community Broadband Networks team here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance want to share our appreciation for the great things Americans love while maintaining our focus on connectivity.
Since 2011, PCMag has collected speed data and written about the country’s Fastest ISPs based on download and upload results. This year’s results reflect, once again, that locations with publicly owned broadband infrastructure contribute to communities’ ability to offer faster connectivity.
How They Did It
California
City approves high-speed Internet agreement by Tammy Murga, The Signal
On July 9th, Christopher will be in Palo Alto, California, for a talk on municipal networks and the possibilities as the city searches for better connectivity.
People in Falmouth, Massachusetts, met on June 4th to discuss the possibilities of developing a municipal network in their city. About 80 people attended the meeting, which they held at the local library.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. (June 27, 2019) - Nearly a century after bringing electricity and telephone services to America’s rural households, cooperatives are tackling a new challenge: the rural digital divide. An updated report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) illustrates the remarkable progress co-ops have made in deploying fiber optic Internet access across the country.
Maps produced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) show that the vast majority of Pennsylvanians have broadband access, but anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise.
Decades after bringing electricity and telephone services to America’s rural households, cooperatives are tackling a new challenge: the rural digital divide.
Protestors around the country have taken a stand against 5G — often based on myths of health effects from the new technology. But Doug Dawson at CCG Consulting argues that the protestors do have an element of truth.
Alabama
Government grant will help provide broadband access to Coosa County residents by Sean Ross, Yellowhammer News
Connecticut
Ponca City, Oklahoma, is a small community of about 24,000 just 30 miles off of I-35. Although known for its history museums, Ponca City also has a rich history in its publicly owned network.
VICE interviewed Christopher Mitchell, Director of ILSR's Community Broadband Networks initiative, to get his perspective on a new study that shows high-quality broadband access lowers unemployment rates in communities. His contributions are below:
In an April press release, SiFi Networks announced that they will be developing a privately funded open access Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network in Fullerton, California. The project will serve the city of approximately 140,000 people, with ISPs using the SiFi fiber network to compete for subscribers.
Getting Commitments
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