Community Broadband Media Roundup – April 25

Date: 27 Apr 2015 | posted in: agriculture | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The big news this week was about the fall of the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger. We like to think it was because of our incredibly brilliant, insightful (also: “witty”, “pithy”, “charming”…) letter to Comcast.

Once Comcast’s Deal Shifted to a Focus on Broadband, Its Ambitions Were Sunk By JONATHAN MAHLER, New York Times

At the end of the day, the government’s commitment to maintaining a free and open Internet did not square with the prospect of a single company controlling as much as 40 percent of the public’s access to it… it didn’t really matter if Comcast and Time Warner’s cable markets overlapped. The real issue was broadband.

Blocking Comcast Is a Start. But if We Want Better Broadband, We Need Much More by Peter Kafka, Re/Code

‘Fast, fair and open:’ FCC Chairman lays out his big picture for broadband, WRAL TechWire

In case you missed it, here is a transcript of Chairman Wheeler’s remarks to Broadband Communities in Austin. 

“Our idea of rock stars would be the leaders of Chattanooga, Tennessee and Wilson, North Carolina.”

Community Broadband News by State

California

Digital debate: SF supervisors mull connecting the masses with citywide broadband network by Joshua Sabatini, San Francisco Examiner

“Fiber broadband lines are exactly the same as highway and roads,” Brooks said. “It’s a thing all governments need to put in as a government service so that all people and all businesses can go nuts on that system, enjoy the system and make loads of money.”

Brooks said The City would ultimately recoup the costs with businesses “chomping at the bit” to use a fast city-owned broadband service, which would charge them less than other private services like Comcast.

“We are way behind the curve and the way to get ahead of the curve is to just build out a public system,” he said.

Maryland

Boone talks Internet expansion by Dorian Mitchell, My Eastern Shore Maryland

“When you see kids in their dad’s pickup truck in the library parking lot on Sundays, trying to connect to the Internet, that’s what we call a Third-World issue,” he said. “That shouldn’t be happening in this country.”

Boone said the project involves a theoretical “ring” of dark fiber-optic cable, starting in the Fairlee area and possibly extending as far west as U.S. Route 301, that would encircle the existing structures in Kent County. This ring would allow a provider to “light” the cable and beam their services all over the county.

“We’re looking to keep the price at zero,” he said. “We’re not looking to create revenue, our goal is to give it (service) away as much as possible without being in the red.”

Massachusetts

Hilltown officials puzzle over broadband costs by Diane Broncaccio, The Recorder

Michigan

VIDEO: Southern Michigan’s Rural Broadband Revolution

In the 1930s, electric cooperatives were formed to bring power and light to the rural space. Today, Midwest Energy Cooperative is again responding to the needs of those who are unserved and underserved as a result of geography by leveraging the utility fiber communications system to offer a true high-speed internet solution to its members. 

Minnesota

Economic Development and Fiber, Pots and Pans

New Mexico

SF [Santa Fe] launches $1M broadband infrastructure project by T.S. Last, Albquerque Journal

“Here’s the government doing what it’s supposed to do: helping out its citizenry,” he said, comparing the project to streets and highways. “It’s one of these things that this is a lot more important than it may appear to be. Improving people’s access to the Internet will help increase what they are able to do and its effects will be felt for a long time.”

New York

Expansion of high speed Internet can help region stay competitive by Elizabeth Cooper, Utica Observer-Dispatch

Broadband for everyone by 2019! The new state budget included a $500 million allocation for the expansion of high speed Internet, and it’s slated to be complete by the end of 2018.

Oregon

Oregon Changes State Tax Law to Lure Google Fiber by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

Other Broadband News

Smart Cities: It’s More Than Broadband by John M. Eger, Huffington Post

Nothing could be more timely or important as this signal to cities that our future, the future of America in the Internet age, depends on renewing, often reinventing, our cities for the global, knowledge economy.

In every study about economic development, the importance of broadband Internet services is mentioned prominently. Given the realignment of power in the world — from nations to cities to individuals — what the city does or does not do can determine their community’s success and survival, or its demise; and as such, will determine the nation’s success or failure.

Look to the States on Broadband by The Editorial Board, New York Times

Bloomberg’s ‘What Works Cities’ Initiative Targets 100 Mid-Sized Metros by Colin Wood, GovTech

The $42 million, three-year program will provide expertise and time to cities that want data-driven solutions for their biggest challenges.

Broadband and Real Estate by Doug Dawson, Pots and Pans

The numbers behind the broadband ‘homework gap’ by John B Horrigan, Pew Research Institute

Read More

Community Broadband Media Roundup – April 25

Date: 27 Apr 2015 | posted in: agriculture | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The big news this week was about the fall of the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger. We like to think it was because of our incredibly brilliant, insightful (also: “witty”, “pithy”, “charming”…) letter to Comcast.

Once Comcast’s Deal Shifted to a Focus on Broadband, Its Ambitions Were Sunk By JONATHAN MAHLER, New York Times

At the end of the day, the government’s commitment to maintaining a free and open Internet did not square with the prospect of a single company controlling as much as 40 percent of the public’s access to it… it didn’t really matter if Comcast and Time Warner’s cable markets overlapped. The real issue was broadband.

Blocking Comcast Is a Start. But if We Want Better Broadband, We Need Much More by Peter Kafka, Re/Code

‘Fast, fair and open:’ FCC Chairman lays out his big picture for broadband, WRAL TechWire

In case you missed it, here is a transcript of Chairman Wheeler’s remarks to Broadband Communities in Austin. 

“Our idea of rock stars would be the leaders of Chattanooga, Tennessee and Wilson, North Carolina.”

Community Broadband News by State

California

Digital debate: SF supervisors mull connecting the masses with citywide broadband network by Joshua Sabatini, San Francisco Examiner

“Fiber broadband lines are exactly the same as highway and roads,” Brooks said. “It’s a thing all governments need to put in as a government service so that all people and all businesses can go nuts on that system, enjoy the system and make loads of money.”

Brooks said The City would ultimately recoup the costs with businesses “chomping at the bit” to use a fast city-owned broadband service, which would charge them less than other private services like Comcast.

“We are way behind the curve and the way to get ahead of the curve is to just build out a public system,” he said.

Maryland

Boone talks Internet expansion by Dorian Mitchell, My Eastern Shore Maryland

“When you see kids in their dad’s pickup truck in the library parking lot on Sundays, trying to connect to the Internet, that’s what we call a Third-World issue,” he said. “That shouldn’t be happening in this country.”

Boone said the project involves a theoretical “ring” of dark fiber-optic cable, starting in the Fairlee area and possibly extending as far west as U.S. Route 301, that would encircle the existing structures in Kent County. This ring would allow a provider to “light” the cable and beam their services all over the county.

“We’re looking to keep the price at zero,” he said. “We’re not looking to create revenue, our goal is to give it (service) away as much as possible without being in the red.”

Massachusetts

Hilltown officials puzzle over broadband costs by Diane Broncaccio, The Recorder

Michigan

VIDEO: Southern Michigan’s Rural Broadband Revolution

In the 1930s, electric cooperatives were formed to bring power and light to the rural space. Today, Midwest Energy Cooperative is again responding to the needs of those who are unserved and underserved as a result of geography by leveraging the utility fiber communications system to offer a true high-speed internet solution to its members. 

Minnesota

Economic Development and Fiber, Pots and Pans

New Mexico

SF [Santa Fe] launches $1M broadband infrastructure project by T.S. Last, Albquerque Journal

“Here’s the government doing what it’s supposed to do: helping out its citizenry,” he said, comparing the project to streets and highways. “It’s one of these things that this is a lot more important than it may appear to be. Improving people’s access to the Internet will help increase what they are able to do and its effects will be felt for a long time.”

New York

Expansion of high speed Internet can help region stay competitive by Elizabeth Cooper, Utica Observer-Dispatch

Broadband for everyone by 2019! The new state budget included a $500 million allocation for the expansion of high speed Internet, and it’s slated to be complete by the end of 2018.

Oregon

Oregon Changes State Tax Law to Lure Google Fiber by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

Other Broadband News

Smart Cities: It’s More Than Broadband by John M. Eger, Huffington Post

Nothing could be more timely or important as this signal to cities that our future, the future of America in the Internet age, depends on renewing, often reinventing, our cities for the global, knowledge economy.

In every study about economic development, the importance of broadband Internet services is mentioned prominently. Given the realignment of power in the world — from nations to cities to individuals — what the city does or does not do can determine their community’s success and survival, or its demise; and as such, will determine the nation’s success or failure.

Look to the States on Broadband by The Editorial Board, New York Times

Bloomberg’s ‘What Works Cities’ Initiative Targets 100 Mid-Sized Metros by Colin Wood, GovTech

The $42 million, three-year program will provide expertise and time to cities that want data-driven solutions for their biggest challenges.

Broadband and Real Estate by Doug Dawson, Pots and Pans

The numbers behind the broadband ‘homework gap’ by John B Horrigan, Pew Research Institute

Read More

ECFiber Seeks New Business Model Designation

Date: 27 Apr 2015 | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

ECFiber hopes to transform its business model in order to attract investors, reported Valley News in February. The organization is now an “inter-local contract,” an entity somewhat unique to Vermont, but seeks to change to a “telecommunications union district.” Similar to a municipal utility district, the telecommunications union district is created by two or more municipalities. The new business model would not change ECFiber’s governance or require financial support from local towns but officials believe it would attract more outside investors.

Last year, ECFiber announced it would expand in 2015, seeking large scale funding to help speed up deployment. Since 2008, the organization has raised over $6 million for deployment from individual investors and now serves more than 1,000 subscribers. Unfortunately, this method financing slows expansion. The results are bad for ECFiber and bad for local consumers:

“The worst thing (about ECFiber’s delay) is a lot of the people who wanted to have it weren’t able to get it right away,” said [ECFiber Treasurer John] Roy.

At this point, FairPoint, Northern New England’s provider of land-line service, is able to reach more rural areas than ECFiber with its high-speed Internet service. But, FairPoint’s speeds of up to 30 megabits per second are slower than the 400 megabits per second ECFiber’s cables can provide, said Roy.

“If we’re going to get this job done before the end of this decade, we need to step up the rate,” said [Irv] Thomae [ECFiber’s Governing Board Chariman].

It would take another 17 – 18 years to deploy 1,600 miles of fiber, the ECFiber goal. If the organization can raised $40 million from larger investors, that period can be reduced to 3 – 5 years, estimated Roy.

In order to achieve the business model change, ECFiber seeks approval from the State Legislature, which will create a union district via H 353 [PDF]. Local communities served by ECFiber must also approve the measure by ballot at their Town Meetings. Thetford approved the measure in February and ECFiber officials expected other communities to follow with no surprises.

Local communities may have no problem taking care of business, but the same cannot be said for state leaders. H 353 and two others are stalled in the State Legislature’s Commerce and Economic Development Committee, reports VTDigger. All three bills are designed to help advance rural broadband development but have been put on the back burner while the committee deals with other matters.

Rep. Jim Masland from Theford introduced H 353. He told Valley News that he was optimistic about passage and that “it shouldn’t be controversial.” Hopefully, the committee can tend to the bill quickly this session so ECFiber can continue to do its good work. Delay only benefits Fairpoint and harms consumers who want better services from a local, accountable, publicly minded network provider.

Read More

Ammon Brings Local Connectivity to Idaho Schools as State Education Network Goes Dark

Date: 24 Apr 2015 | posted in: agriculture | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The City of Ammon’s municipal fiber network recently stepped in to provide primary broadband access for School District 93 as the state’s educational network went dark reports Local News 8. Watch the video of local coverage below.

When a judge ruled last year that the Idaho Education Network (IEN) contract between the state Department of Administration was void, an education broadband crisis loomed across the state. As the drama played out, however, local networks such as Ammon’s muni, have come to the rescue to keep students connected.

Ammon Mayor Dana Kirkham described an attitude characteristic of municipal networks:

“I think it’s just something we do in the spirit of collaboration, and I think that’s always important because when we talk about the school district and the city it’s all the same people, and so anytime we can keep costs down it benefits everyone involved,” Kirkham said.

CenturyLink and Education Networks of America (ENA) were providers under the contract voided last year. As CenturyLink and ENA cut off service to schools, forcing them to negotiate their own contracts, they have discovered better, more affordable broadband from local providers like Ammon.  A recent Idaho State Journal reported on several school districts:

The state, under the now-void IEN contract, had been paying Education Networks of America more than $6,000 a month for a 20 Mbps Internet service to Rockland School District. The school district will pay less than a third of that cost for a new 100 Mbps service next year.

The State Journal also discovered that numerous school districts had used fiber optic service from local providers but were forced to switch to slower service in order to obtain the IEN reimbursement. In order to get the reimbursement, West Side School District had to switch from fiber from Direct Communications, a local company, to a slow copper T1 connection from CenturyLink:

Once the IEN contract was in place, the Idaho taxpayers were saddled with paying over $8000 a month for outdated copper service to that same location.

[Direct Communications Marketing Director Brigham] Griffin said Preston [School District] was in the same boat. It had been getting fiber-optic Internet from Direct Communications, but had to switch to copper to have the state pick up the tab.

“Preston School District will now receive double their previous speed for about a fifth of the monthly cost,” Griffin said.

Though it is incredibly frustrating to see how Idaho has hurts its schools while funnelling extra tax dollars to CenturyLink, it is not as rare as you might think. Many states have these kind of “deals” with the large phone companies. We have long covered the depressing story in Wisconsin, where AT&T has successfully lobbied to hobble WiscNet, an arrangement that brings tremendous cost savings to local budgets and better connections to schools. 

This is more evidence for a point we have long made: building better networks does not necessary have to cost a lot more. We spend so much money inefficiently that eliminating these crony capitalism deals would free up significant funds to be spent more wisely.

In Ammon, Mayor Kirkham summed up the situation:

“This is always an argument for local control so whenever you have local control, then you aren’t at the mercy of the decisions being made higher up the ladder and so this is one of those instances where you see that being played out,” Kirkham said. 

Video: 

See video

Read More

Ammon Brings Local Connectivity to Idaho Schools as State Education Network Goes Dark

Date: 24 Apr 2015 | posted in: agriculture | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The City of Ammon’s municipal fiber network recently stepped in to provide primary broadband access for School District 93 as the state’s educational network went dark reports Local News 8. Watch the video of local coverage below.

When a judge ruled last year that the Idaho Education Network (IEN) contract between the state Department of Administration was void, an education broadband crisis loomed across the state. As the drama played out, however, local networks such as Ammon’s muni, have come to the rescue to keep students connected.

Ammon Mayor Dana Kirkham described an attitude characteristic of municipal networks:

“I think it’s just something we do in the spirit of collaboration, and I think that’s always important because when we talk about the school district and the city it’s all the same people, and so anytime we can keep costs down it benefits everyone involved,” Kirkham said.

CenturyLink and Education Networks of America (ENA) were providers under the contract voided last year. As CenturyLink and ENA cut off service to schools, forcing them to negotiate their own contracts, they have discovered better, more affordable broadband from local providers like Ammon.  A recent Idaho State Journal reported on several school districts:

The state, under the now-void IEN contract, had been paying Education Networks of America more than $6,000 a month for a 20 Mbps Internet service to Rockland School District. The school district will pay less than a third of that cost for a new 100 Mbps service next year.

The State Journal also discovered that numerous school districts had used fiber optic service from local providers but were forced to switch to slower service in order to obtain the IEN reimbursement. In order to get the reimbursement, West Side School District had to switch from fiber from Direct Communications, a local company, to a slow copper T1 connection from CenturyLink:

Once the IEN contract was in place, the Idaho taxpayers were saddled with paying over $8000 a month for outdated copper service to that same location.

[Direct Communications Marketing Director Brigham] Griffin said Preston [School District] was in the same boat. It had been getting fiber-optic Internet from Direct Communications, but had to switch to copper to have the state pick up the tab.

“Preston School District will now receive double their previous speed for about a fifth of the monthly cost,” Griffin said.

Though it is incredibly frustrating to see how Idaho has hurts its schools while funnelling extra tax dollars to CenturyLink, it is not as rare as you might think. Many states have these kind of “deals” with the large phone companies. We have long covered the depressing story in Wisconsin, where AT&T has successfully lobbied to hobble WiscNet, an arrangement that brings tremendous cost savings to local budgets and better connections to schools. 

This is more evidence for a point we have long made: building better networks does not necessary have to cost a lot more. We spend so much money inefficiently that eliminating these crony capitalism deals would free up significant funds to be spent more wisely.

In Ammon, Mayor Kirkham summed up the situation:

“This is always an argument for local control so whenever you have local control, then you aren’t at the mercy of the decisions being made higher up the ladder and so this is one of those instances where you see that being played out,” Kirkham said. 

Video: 

See video

Read More

San Francisco Looks to Expand Muni Fiber and Wi-Fi

Date: 23 Apr 2015 | posted in: agriculture | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

San Francisco has long been considered a modern, glittering, tech capital. For years its leaders have struggled with ensuring residents and businesses actually had next-generation Internet access as AT&T and Comcast only provide the same basic services that are available in most cities. In a recent Backchannel article, Susan Crawford discusses how the City by the Bay is taking steps to develop its vision, its long-term plan, and hopefully a network that will improve connectivity in a city of over 800,000 8.5 million.

San Francisco has developed an Information and Communication Technology Plan, which still needs approval from the City Board of Supervisors. According to the article, the plan calls on the city to take an incremental approach on its path to improved connectivity. They plan to use a similar method as Santa Monica by connecting municipal facilities – many of which are already connected via fiber – and then shedding expensive leased circuits. By eliminating that expense, the city will cut $1.3 million for Internet access and networking services from its connectivity costs.

Last year the City also put dig once policies in place, a decision other communities attribute as one of the keys to a cost-effective deployment. Like Santa Monica, the City currently leases dark fiber to ISPs. They plan to entice more ISPs who want to bring broadband to residents and businesses by expanding that practice. San Francisco plans to streamline the process and work with developers on strategically linking new developments to Internet hubs with dark fiber.

As Crawford notes, the City has created free Wi-Fi in select areas of town with plans to serve public housing and commercial corridors. Miquel Gamiño, San Francisco’s CIO, told Crawford they hope to make Wi-Fi available on a larger scale:

Gamiño’s dream is that San Franciscans and visitors will be connected to that service at all times: “I would love for people to come here, or live here, and feel as if they are just connected, woven into this fabric that exists in thin air,” he says. Consolidating the brand so that every public open network is labeled #SFWiFi will ensure that users perceive the city’s role in providing public WiFi. 

Crawford believes the City is on the right path by investing in more fiber throughout the community:

In the bigger picture, San Francisco will require fiber to businesses and homes. You can’t have a WiFi connection without a wire — that would be like having an airplane but no airports. And the WiFi connections used by both citizens and city infrastructure (“phoning home” via sensors about weather, water, air pollution, transport, energy use, and a host of other indicators of the city’s wellbeing) will be generating — uploading — mountains of data that will need wires on which to travel anywhere at all.

Fiber and WiFi are complementary, in other words. And that’s where long-term planning will be essential.

For more about Santa Monica’s incremental approach, check out Chris’s interview with CIO Jory Wolf in Episode #90 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. You can also learn about their strategy in our detailed report, Santa Monica City Net: An Incremental Approach to Building a Fiber Optic Network. 

Read More

San Francisco Looks to Expand Muni Fiber and Wi-Fi

Date: 23 Apr 2015 | posted in: agriculture | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

San Francisco has long been considered a modern, glittering, tech capital. For years its leaders have struggled with ensuring residents and businesses actually had next-generation Internet access as AT&T and Comcast only provide the same basic services that are available in most cities. In a recent Backchannel article, Susan Crawford discusses how the City by the Bay is taking steps to develop its vision, its long-term plan, and hopefully a network that will improve connectivity in a city of over 8.5 million.

San Francisco has developed an Information and Communication Technology Plan, which still needs approval from the City Board of Supervisors. According to the article, the plan calls on the city to take an incremental approach on its path to improved connectivity. They plan to use a similar method as Santa Monica by connecting municipal facilities – many of which are already connected via fiber – and then shedding expensive leased circuits. By eliminating that expense, the city will cut $1.3 million for Internet access and networking services from its connectivity costs.

Last year the City also put dig once policies in place, a decision other communities attribute as one of the keys to a cost-effective deployment. Like Santa Monica, the City currently leases dark fiber to ISPs. They plan to entice more ISPs who want to bring broadband to residents and businesses by expanding that practice. San Francisco plans to streamline the process and work with developers on strategically linking new developments to Internet hubs with dark fiber.

As Crawford notes, the City has created free Wi-Fi in select areas of town with plans to serve public housing and commercial corridors. Miquel Gamiño, San Francisco’s CIO, told Crawford they hope to make Wi-Fi available on a larger scale:

Gamiño’s dream is that San Franciscans and visitors will be connected to that service at all times: “I would love for people to come here, or live here, and feel as if they are just connected, woven into this fabric that exists in thin air,” he says. Consolidating the brand so that every public open network is labeled #SFWiFi will ensure that users perceive the city’s role in providing public WiFi. 

Crawford believes the City is on the right path by investing in more fiber throughout the community:

In the bigger picture, San Francisco will require fiber to businesses and homes. You can’t have a WiFi connection without a wire — that would be like having an airplane but no airports. And the WiFi connections used by both citizens and city infrastructure (“phoning home” via sensors about weather, water, air pollution, transport, energy use, and a host of other indicators of the city’s wellbeing) will be generating — uploading — mountains of data that will need wires on which to travel anywhere at all.

Fiber and WiFi are complementary, in other words. And that’s where long-term planning will be essential.

For more about Santa Monica’s incremental approach, check out Chris’s interview with CIO Jory Wolf in Episode #90 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. You can also learn about their strategy in our detailed report, Santa Monica City Net: An Incremental Approach to Building a Fiber Optic Network. 

Read More

Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 147

Date: 23 Apr 2015 | posted in: agriculture | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for the episode 147 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Brett Schuppner on the municipal fiber network in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Listen to this episode here.

 

00:06:

Brett Schuppner:  We’ve had other businesses that outgrew their location in town and, you know, moved to the edge of town, and stayed within our service territory, to be able to get our services yet.

00:17:

Lisa Gonzalez:  Hello.  This is the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.  And this is Lisa Gonzalez.

In this episode, Chris visits with Brett Schuppner, General Manager for the Reedsburg Utility Commission in Reedsburg, Wisconsin.  The community has its own fiber network, serving residents, businesses, and public facilities.  The triple-play network is popular with locals because it offers fast, affordable, reliable service, with no pricing gimmicks.  Fortunately for nearby communities, the Reedsburg Utilities Commission was also able to expand outside the city limits.  In this interview, Chris and Brett delve in to some of the concerns municipalities face when considering whether or not to extend their footprint.  In addition to financial challenges, there are practical and political concerns that must be weighed carefully.

We have several articles on Reedsburg at muninetworks.org .  And you can also learn more about the network at reedsburgutility.com .

Now, here are Chris and Brett, from Reedsburg Municipal Utilities.

01:21:

Chris Mitchell:  Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast.  I’m Chris Mitchell.  Today, I’m speaking with Brett Schuppner, the General Manager of the Reedsburg Utility Commission in Wisconsin.  Welcome to the show.

01:35:

Brett Schuppner:  Thank you.

01:37:

Chris:  I’m excited to have you on.  We’re talking just a few days after Wisconsin had that heartbreaking loss.  You know, as a Golden Gopher fan, I was fully with Wisconsin, and deeply disappointed.  So, my condolences.

01:51:

Brett:  Well, thank you.  Yup, it’s a — it was tough to see it end that way, but it was a great season overall.  So, definitely, they could hold their heads high.

02:00:

Chris:  And it definitely seemed like a great group of kids.  So, I was — I enjoyed learning about them.  So —

Anyway — I won’t wish you too much luck in the future, though.

02:12:

Brett:  OK.

02:12:

Chris:  Um, could you start by describing Reedsburg for us?  It actually isn’t too far from the University there.

02:19:

Brett:  Reedsburg is a rural community about an hour northwest of Madison, Wisconsin.  A population of just under 10,000 people.  You know, we do have quite a large industrial base in town, with some very large industries and manufacturing companies.

02:37:

Chris:  And what does the utility service provide?  I mean, we’re going to be talking about the telecom stuff, but maybe you can just briefly recount all the things the utility does.

02:46:

Brett:  Reedsburg Utility Commission is a 121-year-old electric and water utility.  We started with the telecom services back in about 2003.

02:53:

Chris:  Right.  You were one of the early movers, actually.  And you still are one of the premiere communities in Wisconsin.

03:05:

Brett:  We’re the only municipally-owned telecom utility in the state of Wisconsin offering the triple-play.

03:11:

Chris:  Right.  So you had the — you had fiber-to-the-home back before it was fashionable.  And that’s led to, I think, some of the benefits you were talking about with the industrial base.  How has the network helped out the community?

03:23:

Brett:  Well, with the network, definitely we were able to provide, you know, gigabit services to our schools.  Industries also have gig links between different buildings within town.  And also, we do a lot of VLANing to other offices outside of our service territory, by working with other providers, to do that.  So, you know, there’s definitely a benefit to our customers, to being able to, you know, have that high-speed connection, amongst all their other offices and facilities.

03:53:

Chris:  Now, I’ve been out there — twice, actually — to see the network, and to visit with you folks.  And one of the impressions I got is that there’s a fair number of jobs in Reedsburg that would not be there necessarily without the network.  You have some employers, I think, that expanded more in Reedsburg than they might otherwise have.  You don’t have to name names or anything, but that’s generally my sense.  Is that right?

04:16:

Brett:  Yeah.  That’s correct.  We’ve got some industries that have done some large additions, and, you know, a lot of them have their host servers in Reedsburg, for all their facilities.  We’ve had other businesses that outgrew their location in town and, you know, moved to the edge of town, and stayed within our service territory, to be able to get our services yet.

04:39:

Chris:  These businesses weren’t the only things that were expecting.  You were one of the municipalities that got government stimulus dollars when — after the economy crashed, and we wanted to sort of, you know, boost jobs by investing in Internet access, you got some funds to expand some of the rural areas outside of town as well.  You know, can you tell me a little bit about that project?

05:01:

Brett:  Back in 2010, I believe, they applied for that broadband initiative program stimulus funding, and were awarded that grant.  With that, we were able to construct, outside the City of Reedsburg, we cover about 20 or 25 percent of all of Salk County now, going into neighboring communities and covering the rural area with the fiber optics to the premise.

05:27:

Chris:  So, let’s talk a little bit about life now, because when you and I ran into each other in a Wisconsin Farmers Union show, a few months back, you mentioned that you were talking with the county.  And there’s a lot of people that would be excited to see you expand, although you have the economic reality that it’s really challenging to do that.  So maybe you can tell us about the dynamic that’s developing in the county, and how you’re trying to work with the county to be able to offer these services to more people.

05:58:

Brett:  Yeah.  I guess the people that can’t get our services — there’s a lot of them hear about what we can offer, and the benefits of our fiber network, and, you know, are always asking, are you coming our way, can we get your service?  You know, it’s just so sparse that a lot of it doesn’t make sense.  So, you know, the county actually asked us if there’s ways that we could partner with them to build out more through the county.  And I guess we continue to look at options for that, that make sense for both the county and us.  And hopefully sometime we can figure something out that will work with that.

06:34:

Chris:  Now, I’m about 260 miles west of you.  What kind of a quote can you give me?  [laughs]  Now, if I was in Salk County, and I just had the means to write you a check, are you able to expand to people that are sort of in the right condition, and maybe you — what sort of things are going on into making a decision like that?

06:53:

Brett:  Yeah.  I guess if there’s a need there that the customer’s willing to help support the build, and it makes sense for us, that we’re going to recoup our, you know, investment out there, we definitely look at those sort of scenarios.  You know, some of them end up making sense, and we move forward.  And others, it just isn’t practical for the customer or for us.  It’s just a pure business decision.

07:18:

Chris:  What are some of the things that go into making that decision?  I mean, in — someone who’s not doing this on a daily basis, like you are, I sort of think, well, you probably know what the cost is.  Or, you know, if I was to say, I’ll pay all the capital costs, what other sorts of things, you know, go into it?  Is it a matter of just the difficulty of supporting a customer that’s 15 miles away?  Or — what are some of the things that you have to think about?

07:42:

Brett:  You know, supporting the customer, that isn’t too much of a, you know, issue for us, ’cause, with phones and stuff like that, it’s — you know, we can communicate with those customers easy enough, and respond to them quickly.  You know, it’s just a matter of the up-front capital costs.  If the customers is willing to help support getting that fiber in the ground, you know, that’s the main consideration.  And, you know, the electronics and all that goes behind it, that’s economy of scale there, so a lot of that’s already kind of taken into account on our end.

08:13:

Chris:  So, I guess, when you’re dealing with this, I’m going to guess that a lot of people who want you to expand are only willing to pay a small portion of the cost that it would take, and then you have to decide, you know, how much is it going to cost over five years, or are we going to pay it back in three years, or five years?  Is that sort of the thing that goes through your head?

08:33:

Brett:  Yeah.  I guess we kind of, ideally, look for two-year paybacks on builds.  Because, being municipally owned, it’s not like a private business, where we have — it’s easy to go out and get financing, and be able to finance projects like this.  So, we look at ways that we can mainly cash-flow the projects.  So, that’s where it kind of comes into play, with the customer contribution.  I look at it — like on the electric industry, there.  What’s our electric service cost, to get to a new rural customer?  I mean, they’re going to be paying in the $2500 to — you know, it could be as high as $5000 range, in some instances, for — to get their electric service.  So, why should Internet be any different, if that’s, you know, a need of that customer?

09:16:

Chris:  Well — and I’m going to guess that, on top of that, you know, as an entity that’s owned by the City of Reedsburg, you know, you can’t really take a lot of risks to try and connect people that aren’t even in your city.  I mean, you just — you’re there to basically support the City of Reedsburg.  And it’s great that you’re expanding.  But, you know, it’s one of those things that — I have to assume that if you were to start taking a lot of risks in the county, the — some residents of Reedsburg might say to the City Council, what’s going on here?  Why is this risk on us?

09:46:

Brett:  Yeah.  I mean, you hit the nail on the head on that one.  It — why should the taxpayers, like you said, stick their neck out for other townships — other communities?  I mean, the City of Reedsburg took the initiative ten-plus years ago, and stuck their neck out to provide service and support within the City of Reedsburg.  So if we could do it, why can’t the other communities, if they want similar services?  I mean, we could partner with them, work with them, and provide our expertise, and do it at a lower cost, because of the economy of scale.  I guess that’s the way I look at it, is, you know, either the customer or the other communities need to put a little skin in the game.  If they want a service like — well, like we got, there’s a cost associated with it, and they need to be willing to contribute to that.

10:28:

Chris:  So, a final hypothetical question.  The state of New York has been proposing, and developing, a $500 million match fund.  And I’m just curious — if Wisconsin was to be able to do something like that, and Salk County was able to basically say, hey, Reedsburg, for every one dollar you spend, we’ll spend a dollar, would that make a difference?  Or is that still just — is there still too much risk, even at that rate?

10:56:

Brett:  We could look at each location or situation differently.  But, I mean, that would contribute a lot — take a lot of that up-front, out-of-pocket expense out.  Especially if you look at it — out-of-pocket material expenses.  And then the rest is our labor and equipment expense.  You know, that’s how it could be looked at.  And it would probably work out favorably.

11:16:

Chris:  So that’s — it seems like that would be a pretty decent program then.  I guess my question is, is — for any state legislator that’s trying to figure out how to structure a program, is that decent for you?  Or would you like to see a different kind of program?

11:30:

Brett:  It — I guess it would depend on the details of it.

11:33:

Chris:  It’s better than a poke in the eye, right?  [laughs]

11:34:

Brett:  Right.  I mean, I would definitely make some headway towards getting some stuff accomplished.  It just depends — you know, like anything, it — there’s no — it seems like there’s no such thing as free money.  There’s always strings attached, and everything like that.  And that’s what would really have to be evaluated: what IS attached to that money?

11:52:

Chris:  Right.  And I think one other thing is — sometimes people may not appreciate that — there’s a difference between if you’re going — you know, thinking about running a fiber five miles to connect one home, versus if you’re going to a development of 150 homes.  There’s — every potential project would be definitely different.

12:09:

Brett:  Correct.  Yeah.  ‘Cause you’ve got some areas in the township that — you might only go by a couple potential customers per mile.  On others, you might have ten or plus potential customers per mile.  It’s just difficult to evaluate those situations ’til you really dig into them.

12:25:

Chris:  Well, is there anything else you want to tell us about Reedsburg before we end the show?

12:28:

Brett:  I guess the only thing I’d like to add — and, you know, we’ve mentioned the gigabit services.  And, I mean, the one thing that we’re very proud of is the network that we’ve built from scratch.  And being able to be the first gigabit community in the state of Wisconsin.

12:45:

Chris:  Yeah.  I didn’t even have a chance to mention that.  And I know that, in the past, when I’ve talked with Dave Mikonowicz, it sounds like your customers have really valued what you have.  So, I want to congratulate you, and say that, you know, I’m sorry that I didn’t bring that up earlier.  But you deserve, you know, all the kudos for being such an advanced community.

13:04:

Brett:  Thank you very much.

13:06:

Chris:  So, thank you for coming on the show.

13:08:

Brett:  It’s a pleasure to be here.

13:09:

Lisa:  Send us your ideas for the show.  E-mail us at podcast@muninetworks.org .  Remember to like us on Facebook.  And follow us on Twitter.  We are @communitynets .  Thank you again to Persson for the song, “Blues walk,” licensed through Creative Commons.  And thank you for listening.  Have a great day.

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Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 147

Date: 23 Apr 2015 | posted in: agriculture | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for the episode 147 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Brett Schuppner on the municipal fiber network in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Listen to this episode here.

 

00:06:

Brett Schuppner:  We’ve had other businesses that outgrew their location in town and, you know, moved to the edge of town, and stayed within our service territory, to be able to get our services yet.

00:17:

Lisa Gonzalez:  Hello.  This is the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.  And this is Lisa Gonzalez.

In this episode, Chris visits with Brett Schuppner, General Manager for the Reedsburg Utility Commission in Reedsburg, Wisconsin.  The community has its own fiber network, serving residents, businesses, and public facilities.  The triple-play network is popular with locals because it offers fast, affordable, reliable service, with no pricing gimmicks.  Fortunately for nearby communities, the Reedsburg Utilities Commission was also able to expand outside the city limits.  In this interview, Chris and Brett delve in to some of the concerns municipalities face when considering whether or not to extend their footprint.  In addition to financial challenges, there are practical and political concerns that must be weighed carefully.

We have several articles on Reedsburg at muninetworks.org .  And you can also learn more about the network at reedsburgutility.com .

Now, here are Chris and Brett, from Reedsburg Municipal Utilities.

01:21:

Chris Mitchell:  Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast.  I’m Chris Mitchell.  Today, I’m speaking with Brett Schuppner, the General Manager of the Reedsburg Utility Commission in Wisconsin.  Welcome to the show.

01:35:

Brett Schuppner:  Thank you.

01:37:

Chris:  I’m excited to have you on.  We’re talking just a few days after Wisconsin had that heartbreaking loss.  You know, as a Golden Gopher fan, I was fully with Wisconsin, and deeply disappointed.  So, my condolences.

01:51:

Brett:  Well, thank you.  Yup, it’s a — it was tough to see it end that way, but it was a great season overall.  So, definitely, they could hold their heads high.

02:00:

Chris:  And it definitely seemed like a great group of kids.  So, I was — I enjoyed learning about them.  So —

Anyway — I won’t wish you too much luck in the future, though.

02:12:

Brett:  OK.

02:12:

Chris:  Um, could you start by describing Reedsburg for us?  It actually isn’t too far from the University there.

02:19:

Brett:  Reedsburg is a rural community about an hour northwest of Madison, Wisconsin.  A population of just under 10,000 people.  You know, we do have quite a large industrial base in town, with some very large industries and manufacturing companies.

02:37:

Chris:  And what does the utility service provide?  I mean, we’re going to be talking about the telecom stuff, but maybe you can just briefly recount all the things the utility does.

02:46:

Brett:  Reedsburg Utility Commission is a 121-year-old electric and water utility.  We started with the telecom services back in about 2003.

02:53:

Chris:  Right.  You were one of the early movers, actually.  And you still are one of the premiere communities in Wisconsin.

03:05:

Brett:  We’re the only municipally-owned telecom utility in the state of Wisconsin offering the triple-play.

03:11:

Chris:  Right.  So you had the — you had fiber-to-the-home back before it was fashionable.  And that’s led to, I think, some of the benefits you were talking about with the industrial base.  How has the network helped out the community?

03:23:

Brett:  Well, with the network, definitely we were able to provide, you know, gigabit services to our schools.  Industries also have gig links between different buildings within town.  And also, we do a lot of VLANing to other offices outside of our service territory, by working with other providers, to do that.  So, you know, there’s definitely a benefit to our customers, to being able to, you know, have that high-speed connection, amongst all their other offices and facilities.

03:53:

Chris:  Now, I’ve been out there — twice, actually — to see the network, and to visit with you folks.  And one of the impressions I got is that there’s a fair number of jobs in Reedsburg that would not be there necessarily without the network.  You have some employers, I think, that expanded more in Reedsburg than they might otherwise have.  You don’t have to name names or anything, but that’s generally my sense.  Is that right?

04:16:

Brett:  Yeah.  That’s correct.  We’ve got some industries that have done some large additions, and, you know, a lot of them have their host servers in Reedsburg, for all their facilities.  We’ve had other businesses that outgrew their location in town and, you know, moved to the edge of town, and stayed within our service territory, to be able to get our services yet.

04:39:

Chris:  These businesses weren’t the only things that were expecting.  You were one of the municipalities that got government stimulus dollars when — after the economy crashed, and we wanted to sort of, you know, boost jobs by investing in Internet access, you got some funds to expand some of the rural areas outside of town as well.  You know, can you tell me a little bit about that project?

05:01:

Brett:  Back in 2010, I believe, they applied for that broadband initiative program stimulus funding, and were awarded that grant.  With that, we were able to construct, outside the City of Reedsburg, we cover about 20 or 25 percent of all of Salk County now, going into neighboring communities and covering the rural area with the fiber optics to the premise.

05:27:

Chris:  So, let’s talk a little bit about life now, because when you and I ran into each other in a Wisconsin Farmers Union show, a few months back, you mentioned that you were talking with the county.  And there’s a lot of people that would be excited to see you expand, although you have the economic reality that it’s really challenging to do that.  So maybe you can tell us about the dynamic that’s developing in the county, and how you’re trying to work with the county to be able to offer these services to more people.

05:58:

Brett:  Yeah.  I guess the people that can’t get our services — there’s a lot of them hear about what we can offer, and the benefits of our fiber network, and, you know, are always asking, are you coming our way, can we get your service?  You know, it’s just so sparse that a lot of it doesn’t make sense.  So, you know, the county actually asked us if there’s ways that we could partner with them to build out more through the county.  And I guess we continue to look at options for that, that make sense for both the county and us.  And hopefully sometime we can figure something out that will work with that.

06:34:

Chris:  Now, I’m about 260 miles west of you.  What kind of a quote can you give me?  [laughs]  Now, if I was in Salk County, and I just had the means to write you a check, are you able to expand to people that are sort of in the right condition, and maybe you — what sort of things are going on into making a decision like that?

06:53:

Brett:  Yeah.  I guess if there’s a need there that the customer’s willing to help support the build, and it makes sense for us, that we’re going to recoup our, you know, investment out there, we definitely look at those sort of scenarios.  You know, some of them end up making sense, and we move forward.  And others, it just isn’t practical for the customer or for us.  It’s just a pure business decision.

07:18:

Chris:  What are some of the things that go into making that decision?  I mean, in — someone who’s not doing this on a daily basis, like you are, I sort of think, well, you probably know what the cost is.  Or, you know, if I was to say, I’ll pay all the capital costs, what other sorts of things, you know, go into it?  Is it a matter of just the difficulty of supporting a customer that’s 15 miles away?  Or — what are some of the things that you have to think about?

07:42:

Brett:  You know, supporting the customer, that isn’t too much of a, you know, issue for us, ’cause, with phones and stuff like that, it’s — you know, we can communicate with those customers easy enough, and respond to them quickly.  You know, it’s just a matter of the up-front capital costs.  If the customers is willing to help support getting that fiber in the ground, you know, that’s the main consideration.  And, you know, the electronics and all that goes behind it, that’s economy of scale there, so a lot of that’s already kind of taken into account on our end.

08:13:

Chris:  So, I guess, when you’re dealing with this, I’m going to guess that a lot of people who want you to expand are only willing to pay a small portion of the cost that it would take, and then you have to decide, you know, how much is it going to cost over five years, or are we going to pay it back in three years, or five years?  Is that sort of the thing that goes through your head?

08:33:

Brett:  Yeah.  I guess we kind of, ideally, look for two-year paybacks on builds.  Because, being municipally owned, it’s not like a private business, where we have — it’s easy to go out and get financing, and be able to finance projects like this.  So, we look at ways that we can mainly cash-flow the projects.  So, that’s where it kind of comes into play, with the customer contribution.  I look at it — like on the electric industry, there.  What’s our electric service cost, to get to a new rural customer?  I mean, they’re going to be paying in the $2500 to — you know, it could be as high as $5000 range, in some instances, for — to get their electric service.  So, why should Internet be any different, if that’s, you know, a need of that customer?

09:16:

Chris:  Well — and I’m going to guess that, on top of that, you know, as an entity that’s owned by the City of Reedsburg, you know, you can’t really take a lot of risks to try and connect people that aren’t even in your city.  I mean, you just — you’re there to basically support the City of Reedsburg.  And it’s great that you’re expanding.  But, you know, it’s one of those things that — I have to assume that if you were to start taking a lot of risks in the county, the — some residents of Reedsburg might say to the City Council, what’s going on here?  Why is this risk on us?

09:46:

Brett:  Yeah.  I mean, you hit the nail on the head on that one.  It — why should the taxpayers, like you said, stick their neck out for other townships — other communities?  I mean, the City of Reedsburg took the initiative ten-plus years ago, and stuck their neck out to provide service and support within the City of Reedsburg.  So if we could do it, why can’t the other communities, if they want similar services?  I mean, we could partner with them, work with them, and provide our expertise, and do it at a lower cost, because of the economy of scale.  I guess that’s the way I look at it, is, you know, either the customer or the other communities need to put a little skin in the game.  If they want a service like — well, like we got, there’s a cost associated with it, and they need to be willing to contribute to that.

10:28:

Chris:  So, a final hypothetical question.  The state of New York has been proposing, and developing, a $500 million match fund.  And I’m just curious — if Wisconsin was to be able to do something like that, and Salk County was able to basically say, hey, Reedsburg, for every one dollar you spend, we’ll spend a dollar, would that make a difference?  Or is that still just — is there still too much risk, even at that rate?

10:56:

Brett:  We could look at each location or situation differently.  But, I mean, that would contribute a lot — take a lot of that up-front, out-of-pocket expense out.  Especially if you look at it — out-of-pocket material expenses.  And then the rest is our labor and equipment expense.  You know, that’s how it could be looked at.  And it would probably work out favorably.

11:16:

Chris:  So that’s — it seems like that would be a pretty decent program then.  I guess my question is, is — for any state legislator that’s trying to figure out how to structure a program, is that decent for you?  Or would you like to see a different kind of program?

11:30:

Brett:  It — I guess it would depend on the details of it.

11:33:

Chris:  It’s better than a poke in the eye, right?  [laughs]

11:34:

Brett:  Right.  I mean, I would definitely make some headway towards getting some stuff accomplished.  It just depends — you know, like anything, it — there’s no — it seems like there’s no such thing as free money.  There’s always strings attached, and everything like that.  And that’s what would really have to be evaluated: what IS attached to that money?

11:52:

Chris:  Right.  And I think one other thing is — sometimes people may not appreciate that — there’s a difference between if you’re going — you know, thinking about running a fiber five miles to connect one home, versus if you’re going to a development of 150 homes.  There’s — every potential project would be definitely different.

12:09:

Brett:  Correct.  Yeah.  ‘Cause you’ve got some areas in the township that — you might only go by a couple potential customers per mile.  On others, you might have ten or plus potential customers per mile.  It’s just difficult to evaluate those situations ’til you really dig into them.

12:25:

Chris:  Well, is there anything else you want to tell us about Reedsburg before we end the show?

12:28:

Brett:  I guess the only thing I’d like to add — and, you know, we’ve mentioned the gigabit services.  And, I mean, the one thing that we’re very proud of is the network that we’ve built from scratch.  And being able to be the first gigabit community in the state of Wisconsin.

12:45:

Chris:  Yeah.  I didn’t even have a chance to mention that.  And I know that, in the past, when I’ve talked with Dave Mikonowicz, it sounds like your customers have really valued what you have.  So, I want to congratulate you, and say that, you know, I’m sorry that I didn’t bring that up earlier.  But you deserve, you know, all the kudos for being such an advanced community.

13:04:

Brett:  Thank you very much.

13:06:

Chris:  So, thank you for coming on the show.

13:08:

Brett:  It’s a pleasure to be here.

13:09:

Lisa:  Send us your ideas for the show.  E-mail us at podcast@muninetworks.org .  Remember to like us on Facebook.  And follow us on Twitter.  We are @communitynets .  Thank you again to Persson for the song, “Blues walk,” licensed through Creative Commons.  And thank you for listening.  Have a great day.

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