This week, cities took the stage and made some very important moves to restore their local authority. From cities resisting big media mergers, to those choosing to join the new Next Century Cities initiative, it is a good time to be a part of municipal government efforts.
Broadband Cities
Boulder, CO officials are looking ahead at their Longmont neighbor’s gig network and exploring ways to make sure their own businesses are not left in the dust. Boulder’s chamber is pushing for an approval of ballot issue “2C”. Gavin Dahl of Boulder Weekly writes that the ballot question would open the way for the city to offer competitive gig services, helping the city keep existing businesses happy, and entice others to move in.
But according to Boulder News’, Erica Meltzer, opponents still seem to have their heads in the sand; The libertarian Independence Institute says if there was a market for fiber in the city, “some business” will find a way. Maybe they think competitive, affordable Internet will just appear.
Meantime, Columbia, Missouri government officials may be facing an uphill battle. The city is exploring how to light its dark fiber infrastructure. Opponents say the plan goes against state restrictions on the city offering such services directly to customers. We believe the move would encourage competition among ISPs that would otherwise not be able to operate because of a lack of capital required to build fiber networks.
Cities choosing to keep ownership of their fiber infrastructures is often a sound decision, and North Kansas City, Missouri residents may soon be appreciating the city’s most recent announcement. In an effort to “give back” to residents, LiNKCity officials say that beginning in 2015 residential customers can get free Internet service. The decision is thanks to a unique partnership with a server farm company.
“I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this, in fact,” said Chris Mitchell, adding that he guesses DataShack intends to boost profits by gaining more local businesses as customers, and will do so by offering additional services like cloud-based storage — services the city did not offer.”
Add Baltimore to the list of cities that are “fighting for fiber,” according to the Baltimore Sun’s Scott Dance. The Baltimore Broadband Coalition is working to convince citizens and city officials to explore municipal fiber. Harlem entrepreneurs are exploring how gigabit speeds can be a boon to businesses and startups, but also have a positive community impact:
“A lot of the broadband announcements were around wireless … and that has a ways to go in terms of being effective… it’s important for the community to understand that broadband is essential to lowering crime, increasing education opportunities and closing the wealth gap.”
Just outside of San Antonio, the community of New Braunfels, Texas is moving forward with a feasibility study. And not one but three Connecticut communities are taking broadband futures in their own hands. Mayors from New Haven, West Hartford, and Stamford are banding together to solve the state’s broadband problems. GovTech’s Colin Wood tapped Chris Mitchell for insight:
“I watch with a sort of nervous excitement. It’s exciting to see these cities working together and recognizing that they have a need. But I get nervous because I feel like they’re going to get responses to their RFQ, and the easiest thing to do will be for some ISPs to commit to only building out some areas of town. And I think that’s dangerous fundamentally.”
Next Century Cities
Solidarity and learning from city successes and challenges are core values of the newly launched Next Century Cities initiative. Mayors and city leaders from all over the country converged on Santa Monica, to support each other in their broadband efforts. From Sandy, Oregon to Morristown, Tennessee, 32 cities announced their commitment to six basic principles that will help lead communities to self-determination in their broadband endeavors.
Before heading to Santa Monica, one of the major voices for broadband, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke, spoke on a panel in Boston to urge cities to move forward independent of federal programs. Do yourself a favor and head to twitter, type #NCCLaunch and read the stream of comments. Then head to the initiative web page, watch the webcast, educate yourself and urge your city officials to take action.
Comcast/TWC Merger
Franchise agreements between cities and Time Warner Cable may be key to blocking Comcast and TWC’s proposed merger. More and more cities are standing up and demanding real choice in their communities; this week several stepped forward.
According to Ars Technica’s Jon Brodkin, city council leaders in Lexington, Kentucky say TWC’s refusal to address customer service complaints are the reason they are denying transfer of ownership. Consumer advocates like John Bergmayer hope others follow suit.
“I suppose the broader question is whether a single municipality by itself can stop this merger. Maybe not, but it’s unlikely that any one town would be acting alone. If I were Comcast or Time Warner, I’d be looking nervously at my other franchise agreements in towns around the country, and at the states. Taken together these actions could imperil the merger—and might give the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] and DoJ [Department of Justice] even more incentive to act.”
And city council leaders in Worcester, Massachusetts are attempting to block Comcast from entering the area this week as well, it seems “substandard customer service” is finally beginning to bite the company back. The Daily Dot’s Patrick Howell O’Neill has the story:
“It’s a terrible company,” City Councilor Gary Rosen said. “In my opinion, they should not be welcome in this city. Comcast is a wolf in wolf’s clothing; it’s that bad. They are awful, no doubt about it. Maybe we can’t stop it, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t speak out.”