The Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2013 Sensing a threat to their business model, telecom companies are pushing more states to curb the spread of publicly funded high-speed Internet access, arguing the networks could squash competition. Time Warner Cable Inc., Windstream Corp., Comcast Corp. and AT&T Inc. are among the companies that have gotten involved in … Read More
New York Times, March 6, 2013 If you wanted to get large numbers of people actively engaged in helping to solve global warming, how might you go about it? For years, the main approach in the environmental movement has been to sound the alarm bell and implore people to consume less, switch to green products, recycle, … Read More
Jackson Free Press, March 6, 2012 If there’s one thing Mississippians love, it’s their discount stores. Jackson politicians went all aquiver back in January when the news hit of Sam’s Club imminent departure from its north Jackson location to, presumably, cushier digs in Madison. The rumors and political fur began flying almost immediately. The building had … Read More
ILSR is following HB 282, restrictive legislation moving through the Georgia General Assembly. The bill would effectively end the ability for existing networks to expand. Communities considering investing in their own telecommunications networks would face almost insurmountable financial and practical hurdles. As the bill is heavily lobbied by incumbent telecom giants, local leaders make the trek … Read More
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 2, 2013 David Lewis, owner of Lewis Electronics in Shaker Heights, is fed up with customers who ask why he charges sales tax on items they can buy tax-free over the Internet. Some will even show him on their smart phones how much cheaper the price is online. “As a brick-and-mortar … Read More
Government Technology, March 5, 2013 About 340 communities nationwide offer publicly-owned fiber-optic or cable networks, according to a new map from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. But as one expert told The Atlantic Cities, there are few big cities on the map. The largest city-owned broadband network serves about 170,000 households in Chattanooga, Tenn., with Lafayette, … Read More
Bloomberg News, March 4, 2013 Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke delivered upbeat news to the company’s semi-annual Sustainability Milestones Meeting in November 2009. The world’s largest retailer was on track to hit 36 of the 37 energy and environment goals Duke’s predecessor set for the company in 2005. Not everyone in the audience responded with glee. “When … Read More
The Atlantic Cities, March 4, 2013 The Institute for Local Self-Reliance recently compiled this map of all the communities in the country that control their own access to the Internet. At best count, there are about 340 of them with publicly owned fiber-optic or cable networks, serving either all or parts of town. In these places, … Read More
Democracy Now, March 4, 2013 As many as one in 10 Americans cannot get Internet connections fast enough for common online activities such as watching video. Many communities have responded to this digital divide by creating their own municipal broadband networks as an alternative to the slow services offered by cable and telephone companies in order … Read More
