Wired West Launches Pre-Subscription Cards

Date: 15 Aug 2012 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Wired West, an initiative in rural western Massachusetts to build a modern network in a broadband desert, has launched a pre-subscription campaign to demonstrate local demand for broadband service and support for the project. The online form is available here. The official WiredWest Communications Cooperative Corporation is just now celebrating its first anniversary, noting that 37 … Read More

Community Broadband Bits 8 – Jim Moorehead of Mendocino County, California

Date: 14 Aug 2012 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The eighth podcast in our Community Broadband Bits series is a discussion with Jim Moorehead, the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Broadband Alliance of Mendocino County in California. Mendocino is a large, rural county in the northern part of the state that has been left behind by major incumbent providers including AT&T, Comcast, and … Read More

The Economist Understands Community Broadband

Date: 11 Aug 2012 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The conservative, eminently pro-capitalist publication The Economist understands why community broadband is important. “The Need for Speed” discusses Kansas City and Chattanooga — two of the best broadband networks in the nation. But while others have become stuck on the wrong question — “what can you do with a gig,” The Economist recognized what is important. This … Read More

Community Broadband Bits 7 – Mary Beth Henry of Portland, Oregon

Date: 7 Aug 2012 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

For the 7th Community Broadband Bits podcast, we talk with Mary Beth Henry from Portland, Oregon. Mary Beth is the Director of the Portland Office for Community Technology and Mt Hood Cable Regulatory Commission, as well as a past president of NATOA. Our discussion covers the long struggle to ensure local businesses and residents had a … Read More

Public Service Commissioner Calls Mississippi Gov "Coin-Operated"

Date: 7 Aug 2012 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

We have watched in growing horror as AT&T and other telco lobbyists have gone from state to state gutting telecommunications oversight. In several states, you no longer have an absolute right to a telephone – the companies can refuse to serve you if they so choose. We tip our hat to Phil Dampier at Stop the … Read More

Why "Who Invented the Internet" Matters

Date: 6 Aug 2012 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

For those who missed it, a Wall Street Journal op-ed ignited a geektroversy by claiming the federal government did not invent the Internet. First, some history. Then an explanation of why we should care. A guy named Crovitz kicked off the fight with his poorly researched op-ed: It’s an urban legend that the government launched the … Read More

Television Ad Revenue for Small Networks

Date: 4 Aug 2012 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

When communities are trying to figure out how to pay for networks, they sometimes fail to explore some logical places. A recent article on Telecompetitor gives us an estimate for revenues from inserting ads in cable television programming. Before the economic downturn, a typical small video service provider could expect between $1.25 and $2.00 a month … Read More

Mediacom Continues Obstructing Rural Broadband Rollout in Lake County Minnesota

Date: 2 Aug 2012 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Of all the broadband stimulus projects, the Lake County FTTH network in Minnesota has been one of the most embattled in the nation (possibly only behind AT&T’s attacks on South Carolina projects). Mediacom has pulled out all the stops, including filing complaints with the Inspector General that included dubious allegations at best and then complaining after … Read More

Slate Commentary: Want to Pay Less and Get More?

Date: 1 Aug 2012 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Today, Slate published an opinion piece by me and Sascha Meinrath from the Open Technology Institute at New America Foundation talking about the important role of community broadband in solving the nation’s broadband problem. A snippet: In the meantime, local communities are taking matters into their own hands and have created remarkable citywide fiber-to-the-home broadband networks. … Read More

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