The 12th episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast features an interview with Todd Murren of SpringNet, in Springfield Missouri. SpringNet delivers blazing broadband over Ethernet to businesses in the community. We talk about Missouri’s strong restrictions on local authority around broadband and the history of SpringNet. We also discuss how SpringNet has led to hundreds … Read More
In our 11th episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast, we interview Steve Reneker — the Chief Innovation Officer & Executive Director of SmartRiverside — of Riverside, California. We discuss why Riverside built its own wired and wireless networks and how it is using them to improve the efficiency of local government operations and increase digital … Read More
If you were judging solely from the reaction of Comcast, you could be faulted for thinking Ramsey County and the city of Saint Paul were making a bold, if risky, investment to bring real broadband to local businesses and citizens in Minnesota’s capital. But you would be wrong. Very wrong. The City and the County are … Read More
The tenth episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast features Vince Jordan, Telecom Manager for Longmont Power and Communication in Colorado. We have long followed the trials and tribulations of this community as they fought through two referenda against Comcast’s deep pockets. Now they are expanding their network to connect businesses and residents. You can learn … Read More
We want to alert readers to some upcoming events that will discuss community broadband networks. The first will be most interesting to those who are attending the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) conference in Minneapolis from September 6-8. On Saturday, September 8, Christopher Mitchell will join a panel entitled “Digital Frontiers: Copryright, Censorship, … Read More
The ninth episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast features Leslie Nulty, from the East Central Vermont Fiber Optic Network, commonly called ECFiber. ECFiber is using a unique financing arrangement, wherein debt is sold to those in the community as the network slowly expands. They have already raised over $1 million dollars and are providing services … Read More
Milo Medin, the VP of Access Services at Google (responsible for the Kansas City deployment) gave a 40 minute presentation discussing important changes in the Internet. We should be moving from an age of scarcity to abundance, if the big cable companies will stop hindering that change. The slides from his presentation are available here. Video:
A Business Journal story yesterday reveals that Time Warner Cable is adding 81 jobs in Kansas City, an increase of 9% over its present area workforce: The company, which currently employs about 900 locally, wants to fill customer service, finance, sales and other positions. These are the jobs that result from competition – which does not … Read More
In Star Tribune coverage of Mediacom’s war against real broadband in rural Minnesota, we learn that Mediacom will not sue Lake County to disrupt its plan to serve thousands of unserved residents and local businesses. And for all its accusations, Larsen says Mediacom will not sue. Spending millions of dollars on a lawsuit in a place … Read More
