Close to connecting subscriber number 500, Owensboro, Kentucky’s OMUFibernet is also ready to continue expansion to more neighborhoods as they develop their publicly owned Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) gigabit network.… Read More
The city of Solon, Ohio, has their eyes on Hudson, their neighbor about 10 miles to the south. Both communities have a population of around 23,000 but Hudson businesses have access to the publicly owned fiber network and community leaders are considering expanding the service to residents. In order to explore the idea further, Solon city leaders have decided to fund a feasibility study.… Read More
Like other local communities around the country, Cleveland Heights in Ohio is beginning a conversation about the possibility of publicly owned Internet infrastructure. The impending loss of federal network neutrality protections, the desire to compete with other communities, and ensuring digital equality, are several issues local leaders consider most important.… Read More
The Portland Mercury News reporter Erik Henriksen wrote a comprehensive feature detailing the possibility of Portland, Oregon investing in a municipal broadband network for the city. In his coverage, Henriksen cites the Institute for Local Self-Reliance for the ways that major Internet Service Providers fight against municipal broadband.… Read More
Looking at the Community Network Map, anyone can see that Iowa is filled with towns that have chosen to invest in publicly owned Internet infrastructure. On May 1st, the community of Pella took a step at the polls that will bring them a little closer to having a “pin” on our map. Ninety-two percent of those voting in the special election chose to authorize the City Council to establish a telecommunications utility.
Located in south central Iowa, Pella is about 40 miles south of Des Moines in Marion County. Pella Corporation and the Vermeer Manufacturing Company are the largest employers with Century College and the Pella Regional Health Center also retaining many people in the community. All of these large entities need fiber connectivity for different purposes.… Read More
Privatization is impacting the United States in nearly every sector, as ILSR co-founder David Morris indicates in this week’s Weekly Picks: Michigan’s prison food, Chicago’s public school sanitation, and Iowa’s Medicaid privatization is an example of the kinds of things that happen when you take the public incentive away from doing adequate work. Much more inside…… Read More
There are about 3,000 residents in Calais (pronounced “Kal-iss”) and 1,500 in Baileyville, but according to Julie Jordan, Director of Downeast Economic Development Corporation (DEDC), many of those residents are aging and younger people find little reason to stay or relocate in Washington County. The community recognizes that they need to draw in new industries and jobs that will attract young families to keep the towns from fading off the map.… Read More
Fairlawn, Ohio’s Fairlawn Gig is a great example of a municipal broadband project that is connecting it’s community to high-speed, affordable Internet access. Andrea Fox of the EfficientGov blog heard about our coverage of Fairlawn Gig and decided to write a story about their success.Her story includes a quotation from the Community Broadband Bits podcast episode where ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks initiative director Christopher Mitchell interviewed deputy director Ernie Staten.… Read More
ILSR’s Director of Energy Democracy, John Farrell, provided a presentation to a forum of Decorah Power, the local advocacy organization favoring city utility ownership to discuss several advantages from local ownership. First, there’s an abundant local wind and solar energy resource. Second, Decorah isn’t alone, and over 2,000 other cities chart their own course with municipal ownership. Finally, getting power locally returns more dollars to the local economy.… Read More
