Next week the FCC will make a landmark decision that will affect the future of community networks. Here’s a roundup of stories.
Hate Your Internet Service Provider? You Should Have Feb. 26 Circled on Your Calendar by Daniel B. Kline, Motley Fool
The state of city-run Internet by Allan Holmes, Center for Public Integrity
The Center and Reveal revisited Tullahoma, Tennessee and Fayetteville, North Carolina, where state laws restrict municipal broadband growth.
How Will the Fight over Public ISPs and Net Neutrality Play Out? by Larry Greenemeier, Scientific American
In an effort to sort through these and other issues impacting how people will access and use the Internet for years to come, Scientific American spoke with Lev Gonick, CEO of OneCommunity, an ISP for Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals and another 1,800 public-benefit organizations in northeastern Ohio.
“The idea of local governments taking it upon themselves to improve community broadband speeds has caught on in recent years, particularly in towns and cities that host major universities craving greater network bandwidth.”
Idaho:
Judge’s ruling worsens Idaho’s high school Internet headache by Bill Roberts, Idaho Statesman. We have long argued that throwing money at the biggest carriers is poor policy and a waste of taxpayer dollars.
A deadline for the loss of service looms as officials scramble for solutions.
Iowa:
Providers: Iowa’s broadband expansion will take time, money by Barbara Rodriguez, News Tribune
Illinois:
Search still on for immaculate reception by Rich Warren: News-Gazette: Champaign, Illinois
“The FCC may truly blast open the cable industry to competition by overruling laws in Tennessee and North Carolina, which could create a precedent in the remaining 20 states that restrict municipal/public Internet providers. Unfortunately, huge corporations, such as Verizon, threaten to fight this in court to the bitter end.”
Maine:
Town weighing options to create a fiber optic broadband network by Robert Levin, Mount Desert Islander
The town will spend up to $20,000 to study the feasibility of constructing its own fiber optic network to link town buildings, schools and possibly private businesses and residences to high-speed broadband Internet.
Massachussets:
Baker pledges $50 million for Western Mass. broadband by Jack Newsham, Boston Globe
Missouri:
Schaefer seeks to block Columbia from creating high-speed Internet utility by Rudi Keller, Columbia Tribune
In a letter to committee Chairman Eric Schmitt, a coalition of private companies and industry associations said the bill would hinder economic growth, especially in rural areas where private companies are reluctant to invest.
“These communities should be free of artificial barriers, including the cumbersome, time-consuming, expensive, and ambiguous requirements” of Schaefer’s bill, said the letter, signed by Google, Netflix, the Telecommunications Industry Association and the American Public Power Association, among others.
Minnesota:
Broadband appetite grows in Upper Minnesota River Valley by Tom Cherveny
Green Isle, Townships Nearing Final Phase for Fiber Project OK by Belle Plaine Herald
Ohio:
Cleveland seen pioneering a new kind of smart growth, Internet driven development: the Mix by Robert L. Smith, The Plain Dealer
Tennessee:
TUB rural broadband gets another hearing by Marian Galbraith
Texas:
EUB member proposes municipal-owned fiber-optic network by Matt Dotray, A-J Media
West Virginia:
W.Va. bill to build $78M rural broadband network advances by Eric Eyre, West Virginia Gazette
Oh Snap! House buckling to Frontier, Republican delegate alleges by Eric Eyre , West Virginia Gazette
“No wonder they’re called Frontier, Those are the kinds of speeds you’d expect on the American frontier in the 17th century,” Smith said in a press release.
“I may be alienated by my party in the end, but right is right, and wrong is wrong. [Internet companies] ought to be held accountable for what they’re providing.”
Opinion:
Editorial: Let cities compete for broadband: Our view USA Today
Why should they be powerless as big companies route the information superhighway around them?
Editorial: Broadband development holds possibilities by Watertown Daily Times
Broadband is better as a public-private partnership By Ben Franske, MinnPost
Internet and Education:
Technology at their fingertips, but lacking Internet
Students have access to the gadgets, but when Internet is lacking at home, they may fall behind.
Comcast:
Comcast agent tells customer that data caps are “mandated by law” by Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica
Comcast forced to clarify that “there is no law” requiring data caps.
Cable customer service “unacceptable,” says cable’s top lobbyist
Former FCC Chairman Michael Powell loves cable, but facts are facts.