The Missoula Valley Internet Cooperative has successfully raised funds and designed, deployed, and launched a wireless mesh network delivering 150 Megabit per second (Mbps) symmetrical service to more than 50 of 550 pre-registered households for, on average, $40-60/month. … Read More
With support from the Internet Society, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance has produced a video series to help tribes meet the requirements set by the FCC in getting their 2.5GHz networks up and running.… Read More
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) represents an unprecedented amount of money flowing to local governments, and an equally historic opportunity to spend the money on bringing fast, affordable broadband access to the millions of unserved and underserved households… … Read More
Ten years ago the local cable provider in Tuttle, Oklahoma (pop. 7,300) went bankrupt. After looking at community-owned networks around the country, city officials decided that it should invest for the well-being of its local economy and its residents, as well as to give local government the tools it needed to increase efficiency and save money. Its network, Tuttle Fiber, is complete today, and will deliver universal, fast, affordable, and locally accountable Internet access for decades to come.… Read More
Our new report Minnesota Broadband: Land of 10,000 Connectivity Solutions showcases the diverse range of approaches communities and local ISPs have taken to expand affordable, high-quality Internet access in Minnesota. … Read More
After three years in a row with similar results, PCMag’s “Fastest ISPs in America” for 2021 analysis shows a clear trend: community owned and/or operated broadband infrastructure supports networks which, today, handily beat the huge monopoly Internet Service Providers (ISPs) – cable and telephone alike – for sheer speed. The latest list proves it. Of the ten-fastest ISPs in the country, all of them feature operators that either are cities themselves or use city-owned fiber or conduit to deliver service across whole or parts of their footprint. … Read More
In a new op-ed, ILSR’s Sean Gonsalves and Christopher Mitchell reflect on the potential of billions of upcoming federal dollars to dramatically reshape our broadband infrastructure and promote competition, after decades of regulations which have favored monopolies and ignored broken marketplaces.… Read More
HiLight — Hillsboro, Oregon’s (pop. 105,000) citywide Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network — has officially launched and begun connecting its first subscribers. After five years of consideration and planning, it’s an exciting moment, with hundreds of homes and businesses brought online over the last few months. … Read More
Last week, House Republicans introduced a bill package ostensibly to promote broadband expansion and competition across the country. In reality, the legislation is a wish list of monopoly cable and telephone companies that will protect them from competition and decrease their accountability to the public. It would also ban communities from building their own networks or engaging in public-private partnerships.… Read More
