agriculture

The first gigabit city in Wisconsin, Reedsburg, has a municipal fiber network operated by the city-owned electric utility. This week, we talk with General Manager of the Utility Commission, Brett Schuppner. Reedsburg fiber goes back to 2003, which makes it one of the oldest FTTH networks in the nation.

Located about an hour outside of Madison, Reedsburg has seen more investment from local industrial businesses because of its fiber network. They received a broadband stimulus award to expand their network into some surrounding rural areas and are now considering how they can continue expanding the network deeper into surround Sauk County without federal assistance.

We talk about what goes into these expansion discussions – what is the dynamic when one community has a great network and the County would like it to expand?

Read all of our Reedsburg coverage here.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show – please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

This show is 13 minutes long and can be played below on this page or via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed.

Listen to previous episodes here. You can can download this Mp3 file directly from here.

Thanks to Persson for the music, licensed using Creative Commons. The song is “Blues walk.”

Community Broadband Bits Episode 147 – Brett Schuppner of Reedsburg Utilities in Wisconsin

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Five months ago volunteers in Shutesbury gathered to inventory local poles to prepare for a possible fiber deployment. Now, more than 40 percent of local households have committed to high-speed Internet access through WiredWest, reports MassLive. Nearby Wendell is also celebrating the 40 percent milestone. According to the article, these are the first communities in the WiredWest region to reach the 40 percent milestone

The next step will be a required two-thirds vote at a town meeting to authorize borrowing to fund the deployment in each community. After that, a majority of voters must approve a debt exclusion in Shutesbury and Wendell to invest in the capital projects as required by state law.

Shutesbury’s Broadband Committee Co-chair Gayle Huntress told MassLive that it was no surprise that the community reached the 40 percent threshold needed to move to the next step:

“We are internet-starved,” she said. “You should see the people sitting in their cars outside the library and town hall to use the wireless signal.”

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A small portion of Shutesbury residents already have access to the internet via Verizon DSL, which is built upon deteriorating copper telephone wires, said Huntress. Others use satellite dishes.

Shutesbury is home to approximately 1,800 people on 27 square miles. Wendell is a bit larger at 32 square miles but only 848 people live there.They expect to borrow $1.66 million and $1.19 million respectively to apply to the cost of deployment in their communities. 

Massachusetts has offered to contribute up to 40 percent of the funds to connect rural towns to the state’s MassBroadband 123 middle mile network, but local communities must contribute the remainder. In Shutesbury, the total cost of the deployment is estimated at $2.58 million.

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This week, Christopher traveled to Austin, Texas for the Broadband Communities Conference. It was great to connect with so many people doing great work and build on the energy we are seeing across the country. Onward!

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Pokes Finger in Eye of Telecom Incumbents at Broadband Communities in Austin by Drew Clark, BroadbandBreakfast.com

Wheeler Talks Up Pre-emption Says There Are Serious Questions About ISP Competition by John Eggerton, MultiChannel

Just to reiterate: 

“The Commission respects the important role of state governments in our federal system,” he said, “and we do not take the matter of preempting state laws lightly. But it is a well-established principle that state laws that inhibit the exercise of federal policy may be subject to preemption in appropriate circumstances. My position on this matter was shaped by a few irrefutable broadband truths:

• You can’t say you’re for broadband – but endorse limits on who can offer it,
• You can’t follow Congress’ explicit instruction to ‘remove barriers’ to infrastructure investment – but endorse barriers to infrastructure investment,
• And you can’t say you’re for competition – but deny local elected officials the right to offer competitive choices.“

National broadband summit aims to ‘Gigafy America’ WRAL TechWire

Municipal Broadband: Signs of Desperation? by Bernie Arnason, Telecompetitor

One response to this question regarding the need for municipals to enter the broadband business grabbed my attention – desperation. It was voiced by Deborah Acosta, the chief innovation officer for the city of San Leandro, California during the panel discussion “Using Broadband to Drive Economic Development: Successful Local Approaches.”

Community Broadband Networks News: State-by-State

California

Digital Divide: 100,000 lack Internet access in SF, report says by Joshua Sabatini, San Francisco Examiner

100,000 San Franciscans Don’t Have Internet? by Jay Barmann, SFist

Massachusetts

Letter: Key moment for broadband by Steve Nelson, Berkshire Eagle

The regional fiber network is our best tool for economic development. For keeping young people here after they graduate from our fine colleges and universities. For attracting families with young children, who will get a better education because increasingly kids will have to do more homework online.

…

The choice we face in our moment of truth this spring is simple. Each of us must decide for ourselves, our families and our towns: to move ahead or fall behind.

Washington

Group fighting for Seattle broadband to become a public utility by Kipp Robertson, MyNorthwest.com 

Citizens took to social media when Comcast service went down for more than 30,000 customers. Follow the hashtag: #ComcastOutage for the stream.

“If Internet were a public utility in Seattle, everyone would have access,” Roach said. “There’s just no limit to the things that could shift in our city if we had that access.”

Making Internet a public utility could allow for better reliability, Roach said. The impact of construction crews accidentally cutting a fiber-optic line in South Lake Union, for example, might have less impact if there are more safeguards.

Restless crowd wants Tacoma to keep control of Click network by Kate Martin, News Tribune

People are passionate about connectivity, and believe that there are may benefits beyond the bottom line. It’s important that elected officials realize this before they make long-term deals that will impact their constituents. 

Oh, ALEC…

Phone Company Refuses to Stop Denouncing ALEC’s Telecom Policy Credo Mobile said it will not comply with the conservative group’s cease-and-desist demands by Dustin Volz, National Journal

Anti-municipal broadband group tries to silence a critic ALEC sent cease-and-desist to wireless carrier, which refuses to comply by Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica

ALEC Threatens To Sue Critics That Point Out It Helps Keep Broadband Uncompetitive from the sloppy-denial dept by Karl Bode, TechDirt

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There are probably more mesh Wi-Fi networks operating in the U.S. than most of us realize. They require only one hard-wired connection to the Internet and there are many industrious, tech minded people out there who have the skills to set up this self-healing technology, though they are still working out the kinks.

A mesh network allows devices to engage each other without going through a central point. If I want to use my cell phone to call the cell phone of someone standing 10 feet away from me, the signal may travel thousands of times farther than it would have to because a cell phone company wants to track minutes, collect data, and more. In a mesh network, the two devices would just talk to each other without intermediation. 

A recent Technical.ly article, explores a dozen communities that are using the technology to serve local residents.

The article provides some basic info on these local mesh networks:

• Redhook Wifi, Brooklyn
• Bamboowifi, Philadelphia
• SMesh, Baltimore
• Meta Mesh, Pittsburgh
• Digital Stewards, Detroit
• NYCWireless, New York City
• Personal Telco, Portland, Oregon
• MileMesh, Hoboken, N.J.
• Wasabinet, St. Louis
• TFA Wireless, Houston
• Meshnet Project, Seattle
• La Canada Wireless Association (LCWA, Santa Fe)

We have reported on mesh networks in Poulsbo, Washington, and Ponca City, Oklahoma. An attractive feature for those communities was the ability to expand the network as needed with modest investment. As Technical.ly reports:

Mesh networks help people stay connected while avoiding traditional internet providers. Motivation around the country for creating community mesh networks ranges from a desire for social justice, improved information access during natural disasters or just the need to experiment.

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The celebrated municipal network in Leverett, Massachusetts, is starting to serve select areas of the community. Customers’ properties on the north side of town are now receiving 1 gigabit Internet service from the town’s partner Crocker Communications. These early subscribers are considered “beta sites.” Telephone service will become available when the network has been fully tested.

According to the press release:

The Town’s initial plan was to turn on all subscriber locations at the same time; but interest from pre-subscribers was so strong that the Town’s Broadband Committee arranged to offer sequential connections as individual homes are spliced into the network distribution cable. 

We learned about Leverett in 2012 as they explored the possibility of a municipal network. Lack of Internet access and problems with traditional phone service drove the community to take the initiative. Since then, they have been heralded as a model for self-reliance by the press, featured in case studies, and included in a white paper from the National Economic Council and Council of Economic Advisors.

LeverettNet subscribers pay a monthly $49.95 fee to the local Municipal Light Plant (MLP), the agency that maintains and operates the infrastructure. As more subscribers sign-up, that fee will decrease.

For stand-alone gigabit Internet access, subscribers pay an additional $24.95 per month. Stand-alone telephone service will be $29.95 per month. Those services will be $44.95 per month when bundled together.

A subscriber with bundled services of 1 gigabit symmetrical Internet access and telephone service pays a total of $94.90 per month, which includes the MLP fee. 

According to the press release, LeverettNet currently has 600 pre-subscribers, a take rate of 70%. Community leaders expect the network to be completed by August.

For more on Leverett, listen to the Community Broadband Bits podcast episode #113, in which Chris interviewed Peter d’Errico from Leverett’s Select Board and the Broadband Committee.

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When we last wrote about the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative, it was a coop focused on open access middle mile connections. Now it has become the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation and is starting to work on some plans to expand open access last mile access.

This week, we speak with MBC President and CEO Tad Deriso to learn more about their history and current approach. We discuss how they got started financially and lessons for other middle mile open access efforts.

We also discuss their plan to expand the model to last mile businesses and homes in Martinsville in southern Virginia. And along the way, we learn how incumbent providers react differently to open access in the middle mile than in the last mile.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show – please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

This show is 22 minutes long and can be played below on this page or via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed.

Listen to previous episodes here. You can can download this Mp3 file directly from here.

Thanks to Persson for the music, licensed using Creative Commons. The song is “Blues walk.”

Community Broadband Bits Episode 146 – Tad Deriso of Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation

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On May 13th and 14th get y’allselves to Altanta to attend Gigabit Cities Live 2015. The event will bring together members from the public, private, and non-profit sectors to explore how gigabit networks are changing local communities. 

From the event summary:

Gigabit Cities Live 2015 will deliver a highly ‘immersive’ experience for attendees, exploring everything from the infrastructure required to deploy ultra-high-speed networks to the applications these networks are enabling to how gigabit networks will transform communities.

… Meet decision-makers from all aspects of the Gigabit Cities ecosystem – from service providers to urban leaders to technology vendors to applications developers and more – to learn about different approaches and business models for gigabit network success.

Hear thought leaders, see new products and services and learn from peers and solutions providers, all under one roof.

Chris will participate in a panel discussion, Open Access and the Future, on the morning of Thursday the 14th, time to be determined.

This panel session focuses on Open Access broadband networks, the provision of infrastructure to competing carriers that serve end users. Open Access is one of the most talked-about concepts in the broadband and gigabit city community today. Panelists will provide insight into open access models and the treatment of passive broadband infrastructure as a mechanism to encourage competition on the local level, and spur economic investment and development.  This includes successful public-private partnership structures, various models of open access including structural separation and the results of early Open Access network developments in North America. Does Open Access ultimately deliver a vibrant, competitive marketplace for broadband access?

The full agenda, still being refined, is available online. You can also register online; the event will be held at the Westin Peachtree. Use the discount code “ILSR” and you will not have to pay the conference registration fee if you are attending as a normal attendee. Vendors will get a discount from the registration.

Light Reading, which is running the event, has secured a special rate for rooms at the Westin. Hurry though! Those rooms are nearly filled and the discount will expire very soon. 

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Community Broadband News Around the Nation:

Colorado

Community and candidates react to Grand Junction election results by Lindsey Pallares, KJCT-TV

“It’s an indication that people really want to see us have better fiber in this city so we’ll step back as a city council and see what are next steps to go forward,” says Mayor Phyllis Norris.

Connecticut

Connectict is taking steps to become the nation’s first gigabit state. You can also check out our Community Broadband Bits episode 118 for more on how they’re doing it.

At Least One State has a (Fiber) Backbone by Susan Crawford, Backchannel

Who’s on track to get citizens high-speed Internet? Hint: it’s the only state with the word “connect” in its name.

How Connecticut set itself up to be the first gigabit state by Colin Neagle, Network World

Georgia

PTC to get into fiber-optic broadband business? by Ben Nelms, The Citizen

Maine

New group forms to support faster Internet in Maine by Darren Fishell, BDN Staff

Dickstein said the group has been organizing for several months in advance of the legislative session that includes about 35 bills dealing with broadband expansion in the state. Learn More: mainebroadbandcoalition.org

Massachusetts

On the Grid: last-mile LeverettNet Connections being made to households by Paul Franz, The Recorder 

The lighting of LeverettNet marks the first “last-mile” network to connect to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute “middle-mile.” The fiber-optic network design provides upload and download speeds of 1 gigabit per second.

Shutesbury, Wendell first Wired West towns to reach subscription threshold for high-speed Internet by Mary Serreze, The Republican 

A Decade Later, Mass. Broadband Coverage Gaps Persist by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

It’s time for western Mass. to get up to broadband speed by B.J. Roche, The Recorder

Webb’s commute is a common ritual — people regularly drive to a library or town hall parking lot for a high-speed Internet connection. At night, you sometimes can see us sitting in the passenger seat side of our cars, uploading a work project or downloading a software update, faces lit by the glow of a warm laptop. It’s not just a question of which movie to stream on Friday night, but whether there’s enough satellite bandwidth left this month to watch it.

Minnesota

‘Rural agenda’ without broadband is rural sham by Aaron Brown, Minnesota Brown

This last year has seen a small but encouraging spurt of state investment into rural broadband on the Iron Range, but it was just the starting bell, not the final buzzer on what needs to happen

… I understand that Republicans don’t trust government. That does not excuse action to eliminate efforts to expand broadband without new ideas to replace them. I wrote earlier today about the perils awaiting places like the Iron Range without broadband and economic diversification. The same is true throughout rural Minnesota. As was true 100 years ago, we need leadership and respect, not promises and exploitation.

US Internet’s fiber spreads across south Minneapolis by Adam Belz, Star Tribune

“There are good reasons Comcast should be more afraid of USI,” [Chris] Mitchell said. “Comcast competes with CenturyLink around the country. The cable companies have a history of duopoly — of a soft competition rather than hard competition because they recognize that a rough and tumble competition between the two would hurt each more than each is likely to gain.” 

The cable war is coming to St. Paul by Peter Callaghan, MinnPost

CenturyLink aims to bring more competition to Twin Cities cable-TV market by Shannon Prather, Star Tribune

FCC fines CenturyLink $16M over multistate 911 outage by Riham Feshir, MPR News

New Jersey

Village-wide wifi getting close look by Charles A. Peterson, Newark Advocate

“From the standpoint of a community that basically is a knowledge-based community, it would be nice if we had a little faster Internet service available,” Wilken said. “When a community earns its bread through knowledge, it’s kind of nice to have that kind of high-speed stuff.”

Oregon

Google who? Oregon cities want their own fiber networks by Mike Rogoway, The Oregonian/OregonLive

“We realized we’re too small for Google to come to us,” said SandyNet general manager Joe Knapp.

Budget plans called for signing up a third of the city initially, growing to 50 percent over several years. But Knapp said well over 50 percent of the homes in the city have already come aboard.

Oregon cities look to bypass Google Fiber by building own 1 Gbps networks by Sean Buckley

“They may be a benign company but they would still be a monopoly,” said Lake Oswego city manager Scott Lazenby in an article in The Oregonian. “And monopolies charge what they can.”

Vermont

Broadband bills take a number in house commerce by Erin Mansfield, VTDigger

“We’re just a huge, underserved region, but we have a lot of kids who can’t do their homework,” said CJ Stumpf of East Randolph. Stumpf said a child in her town was issued an iPad at school and used it as a paperweight at home because he had no Internet access.

Washington

CenturyLink Apologizes for Misleading Customer About Its Gigabit Internet Service by Ansel Herz , the Stranger

Google Fiber

Google Fiber Is More Important Than You May Think by Jamal Carnette, Motley Fool

Google is forcing big broadband providers to boost speeds by Timothy B. Lee, Vox

Other Broadband News

CLIC Sets Muni Broadband Protection Event: Wheeler to Speak at Broadband Communities Conference by John Eggerton, MultiCHannel 

US broadband providers wake up to the need for speed by David Crow, Financial Times New York

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