Promoting locally rooted, democratically accountable broadband networks that provide fast, affordable, and reliable Internet access to all Americans.
On Wednesday, August 19 at 3pm ET, just eight days before the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “Dream” speech, the on-going webinar series hosted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) returns to pose a pointed question to the digital inclusion community: what is our dream for digital equity — and what kind of ecosystems do we need to, at last, build a “Beloved (connected) Community?”
The live-streamed webinar — “Normalcy, Never Again” — takes its name from the spirit of King’s August 28, 1963 address and will serve as a rallying point to reaffirm that the digital equity movement will not accept business as usual or be managed into irrelevance, even if the face of a federal government actively dismantling the programs and protections that were supposed to close the digital divide.
The webinar will examine what real modernization looks like, explore the striking geography of the digital landscape along Martin Luther King boulevards across the country, and conclude with a roundtable discussion around how community coalitions can reduce digital inequity and strengthen democracy, expanding on the legacy of King and the Civil Rights Movement’s commitment to building inclusive communities.
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Cleveland being labeled one of the worst-connected cities in the nation is changing, thanks to DigitalC, an innovative nonprofit community network provider.
"Digital equity work does not cost the federal government money," says broadband expert Christopher Mitchell.
Chris and Doug Dawson discuss a major court ruling that could make Fiber deployment across railroad rights-of-way easier, Starlink’s ambitions to become a mobile network...
New Community Technology Center expands digital access, remote work, telehealth, education, and high-speed Internet opportunities in rural Vermont.
A community broadband network, we define, as a publicly-owned, locally-controlled broadband network, which can include public-private partnerships. The most common kinds of community networks are municipal networks and cooperatives.
There are more than 1000 localities across the nation served by a community broadband network with many more in the planning or construction phase.
Having tracked and documented broadband developments for nearly 20 years, we have amassed the nation’s largest storehouse of information on community-driven efforts to solve local connectivity challenges.
We invite you to explore our trove of information on the birth and development of community broadband and portal into CommunityNetworks.org where we offer free access to over 4,000 stories, nearly 600 podcasts, dozens of reports, policy briefs, case studies, instructional videos, and other resources.
CommunityNetworks.org
The Verge published an in-depth piece authored by our own Sean Gonsalves and ILSR contributor Karl Bode that examines how BEAD became a billionaire boondoggle.
In The American Prospect, Sean Gonsalves reports on a recently filed bill in California that aims to strip telecommunications oversight authority away from the CPUC.
Three ILSR staffers talked to Liberation in a Generation and The Forge about the many dimensions of fighting corporate power — and building local power.
ILSR's Sean Gonsalves has a new piece in ProMarket on the continuing consolidation of telecommunication markets and why municipal broadband is a better option.
