The Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net) recently hosted a Community Cohort Call titled Tech In The City: A Conversation About Community Broadband Access. Chris Mitchell, Andrea Figueroa Martinez, John St. Julien from Lafayette, and other community broadband advocates discuss the current state of U.S. broadband infrastructure. Chris offers perspective on monopolistic behavior from current mega providers … Read More
WSOC TV in Charlotte recently looked at Salisbury’s four-year-old Fibrant network. Reporter Tenikka Smith investigated what a municipal network could do for Charlotte. Charlotte is also one of the communities working with Google in hopes of having it expand to them. That interest has led AT&T to consider updating its comparatively pathetic DSL services as well. Smith spoke … Read More
Broadband is a topic of interest in several state legislative chambers this session. In a recent Government Technology article, Brian Heaton focused on five states where community broadband is particularly contentious. In some cases, legislators want to expand opportunities while others seek to limit local authority. We introduced you to the Kansas anti-competition bill in January. The … Read More
In a recent SLOG post from the Stranger, Ansel Herz commented on Mayor Ed Murray’s recent statement on broadband in Seattle. Murray’s statement included: Finding a job, getting a competitive education, participating in our democracy, or even going to work for some, requires high speed internet access. I have seen people say online, “I don’t need … Read More
The Free Press announced that more than 50 public interest groups, including the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, signed on to its letter in opposition to the Time Warner/Comcast merger. The letter, addressed and delivered to Attorney General Eric Holder and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, begins: The proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger would give one company enormous … Read More
In a recent New York Times article, reporter Kate Murphy shined a light on fiber’s increasing role in economic development. Murphy discussed several of the same networks we have followed: Wilson, NC; Chattanooga, TN; Lafayette, LA; and Mount Vernon, WA. Murphy acknowledged that successful companies are moving from major metropolitan areas to less populated communities out … Read More
By a 3,982 in favor and 1,397 opposed, the voters in Montrose decided on April 1st to take back local authority for telecommunications services. The state revoked the community’s ability to establish a telecommunications utility in 2005. Jim Branscome covered the election results in the Daily Yonder. Branscome, a resident of Montrose, knows the local broadband … Read More
Crain’s New York Business recently published an article on the crowded conduit under New York City. The article complements the April 7 edition of This Week in Crain’s New York podcast, hosted by Don Mathisen. Empire City Subway (ECS), the crumbling subterranean network of conduit for telephone wires constructed in 1888, is so crowded underground construction … Read More
On April 15th, Benoit Felten and his organization, Diffraction Analysis, will host a free webinar to discuss results from their latest study. The study, Why Consumers Love FTTH – The FTTH Consumer Experience Study, delves into the fiber experience in Sweden. Here are some preliminary findings from the report: In Sweden a huge majority FTTH users … Read More
