Broadband Resources – Search Results
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Fact Sheet: Snapshots of Municipal Broadband
This new fact sheet highlights municipal broadband success stories from across the country and some of the many benefits the networks have brought to the communities they serve. … Read More
Washington State Removes All Barriers to Municipal Broadband
Yesterday, following weeks of anticipation, State Gov. Jay Islee signed the Public Broadband Act (H.B. 1336), removing all restrictions on public broadband in the state of Washington, according to the bill’s primary sponsor, State Rep. Drew Hansen. This critical leap forward in Washington drops the number of states with laws restricting community broadband to 17. … Read More
Biden Administration Decides Cities Should Not Use Broadband Dollars for Broadband
The Biden Administration signed the American Rescue Plan Act, which included, among many other things, multiple sources of funds for broadband infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Treasury was tasked with writing the rules of how local governments can spend the various funds. The Interim Rule has been published and it appears to significantly limit local ability to invest in needed networks. … Read More
How Long Prairie, Minnesota and a Local Cooperative Partnered to Build a Citywide Broadband Network
Tired of waiting for connectivity solutions to come to town, one Minnesota community has instead partnered with a local telephone cooperative to build a fiber network reaching every home and business in the city. In embarking on its journey to improve local Internet access six years ago, Long Prairie (pop. 3,300) ended up partnering with one of the most aggressive fiber network builders in the state – Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) – on a solution that meets local needs. The two finished a ubiquitous Fiber-to-the-Home build in 2018, with the cooperative now owning and operating the network. … Read More
Op-Ed in The American Prospect: Biden Proposes Government Actually Try to Create Broadband Competition
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
A Virginia Electric Cooperative is Building Broadband for Its Members
Craig County, Virginia and the surrounding region is steeped in early American history. And now, thanks to the Craig-Botetourt Rural Electric Cooperative (CBEC), this corner of southwest rural Virginia has established a forward-looking outpost of Internet connectivity with the launch of a new Fiber-to-the-Home network. The first subscribers in Botetourt County already have the Bee Online Advantage as the co-op hopes to expand its high-speed offering across the seven counties in its 650 square-mile service area.… Read More
Franklin County, Ohio Aims to Address Digital Equity in Urban Areas
The Franklin County Digital Equity Coalition was borne out of the emergency needs presented by the pandemic, but has shaped up to be a good model for how to address the broadband issues facing urban communities across the country. After 11 months of meeting and planning, the coalition released a framework in March outlining its five pillars of focus: broadband affordability, device access, digital life skills and technical support, community response and collaboration, and advocacy for broadband funding and policy. As part of its efforts, the coalition also developed two pilot programs to increase broadband access in parts of the city that need it most.… Read More
Vermont House Backs $150 Million Plan to Expand Internet Access
A bill dedicating $150 million of anticipated federal funding to create a new state broadband office to coordinate and accelerate the expansion of high-speed Internet access throughout Vermont passed the State House of Representatives last week with overwhelming bipartisan support.… Read More
Can We Be Local in a Digital World? — Episode 123 of Building Local Power
Jess Del Fiacco is joined by Christopher Mitchell and Christopher Ali, Associate Professor at the University of Virginia. Their conversation focuses around the idea of what it means to be local during a time when more and more pieces of our lives are shifting online. … Read More
In Our View: Grid Disaster in Texas Leads to Open Access Soul Searching
The disaster in Texas resulting from an electric grid that was deliberately left exposed and likely to fail in rare cold weather events has received a lot of dramatic coverage, as well it should given the loss of life and damage to so many homes and businesses. It also raised some questions regarding competition and designing markets. … Read More
Knoxville On Track to Expand Internet Infrastructure and Become Tennessee’s Next Gig City
Knoxville, a city of approximately 187,000 residents and the home of the University of Tennessee, is aiming to get on the community fiber track and become the state’s next gig city.… Read More
Outside Gettysburg, a Battle for Better Broadband
In the heart of Adams County, Pennsylvania, not far from the site of the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg, plans are being drawn up in the battle for better broadband.… Read More
New City-Owned Network Connects Oregonians to High Quality Internet Access
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
A Foundation for High Quality Internet Access in Grant County, Washington
In early 2000, Grant County PUD built an open access fiber optic network, allowing multiple local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to compete in delivering Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) service to the county’s 97,700 residents.… Read More
Republican Broadband Agenda Would Preempt Local Authority and Ban Municipal Networks
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