November 5th probably seems like deja vu for the people of Longmont, Colorado. For the third time, the voters will respond to a ballot question that will impact their community’s connectivity. Past referendums addressed whether or not the community could use its fiber ring for connecting businesses and residents. They now have that authority. This year … Read More
This panel asks ‘who’s your energy daddy?’ and for now it remains large, investor-owned utilities, and ostensibly locally-focused rural cooperatives and municipal utilities. But the energy landscape of today gives me uncomfortable reminders of the Athenian tragedy by Sophocles – the Oedipus tale. John Farrell, ILSR’s Director of Democratic Energy, gave this panel presentation at the 23rd annual … Read More
Architectural Record, October 1, 2013 On a recent evening, Dan Rose, the 32-year-old co-owner of the newly opened Flying Squirrel restaurant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, sat at the packed bar, sketching ideas for his next project, with architect Thomas Palmer, a graduate of Auburn University and its Rural Studio program. Rose is quintessential new-Chattanooga, a walking symbol … Read More
Chattanooga’s EPB Fiber, a municipal FTTH system owned by the city’s electric power board, has dramatically lowered its prices for the gigabit connection and increased all Internet speed tiers. The slowest connection you can get from EPB Fiber is 100 Mbps symmetrical – and it comes at the same price that most cable tiers start at … Read More
Washington Post, September 17, 2013 They may not realize it, but starting today, some high-end Internet subscribers in Chattanooga, Tenn., will turn on their computers and start browsing the Web at a gigabit per second — 10 times the speeds they’re used to. By month’s end, some 39,000 area residents will see their mid-tier connections become … Read More
The people of Centennial, Colorado, will have the opportunity to vote this fall on the option to allow their city to provide indirect telecommunications services. Located south of Denver in the metro area, Centennial has over 100,000 residents. Recently, the City Council unanimously approved the following ballot question for the upcoming elections. The city press release … Read More
Longmont’s City Council and municipal power and communications utility are getting serious about bringing fiber to the people. We reported earlier this month about the decision to allow voters to decide how fast they want that next generation network. Longmont Power and Communications (LPC) already plan to expand the existing network to households and businesses but … Read More
Back in 2010, we reported on the City of Baltimore and its frustration with Comcast and desire to have a real choice for Internet access. Nothing came of the idea at the time but the Baltimore Business Journal reports that Baltimore is once again considering the possibility of a publicly owned network. The Board of Estimates … Read More
“With agriculture being the number one industry in the state, we are looking to inspire students to learn globally and live and produce locally. Agriculture and STEM education are a natural fit. With GPS-guided equipment and variable-rate irrigation and fertilizer applicators to better manage natural resources, education is key.” These are the words of Beau Sherman, … Read More
