Municipal broadband networks connect more than 500 communities across the country, but some states are trying to keep that number from growing. Nineteen states have established legal barriers or even outright bans on publicly owned networks.… Read More
A Senate bill in the Arkansas State Legislature is a small step in the right direction toward empowering municipalities to improve local connectivity. … Read More
Arkansas’ Republican Women’s Legislative Caucus — has decided that they’ll take on the issue of poor connectivity. They’ve introduced a bill that would lift the state’s ban on municipal broadband networks. … Read More
People in Arkansas who depend on Medicaid for healthcare typically don’t have the option to sign-up for affordable health insurance through their jobs. Sometimes they aren’t able to find full-time positions that offer healthcare or they don’t earn enough to afford the premiums in addition to covering life expenses for their families. With so many people offline, either because they can’t afford to pay for connectivity or because they live in areas where there is no connectivity, Arkansas seems like a poor choice for mandatory online reporting of anything, especially activity that dictates eligibility for Medicare. … Read More
Rural electric cooperatives in Arkansas are stepping up and making the investments to bring broadband connectivity to their members. We recently described plans taking shape from North Arkansas Electric Cooperative. This month, construction began in the northeast region on infrastructure that will provide both broadband access and improved smart grid technology in the eight counties of Craigshead Electric Cooperative Corporation (CECC).… Read More
Residents of northern Arkansas will soon be able to obtain high-speed Internet access through their local electric cooperative. North Arkansas Electric Cooperative (NAEC) recently received approval from its Board of Directors to expand its residential broadband pilot program, NEXT, Powered by NAEC. This expansion will bring Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) connectivity and one gigabit speeds to the co-op’s entire service area.
ILSR has been looking into curb sort recycling in an effort to help citizens of Fayetteville, Arkansas defend their curb sort system against efforts to change to a single stream system. Follow this link to one of ILSR’s articles on … Read More
Hats off to Louise G. Mann, of Waste Reduction Resources and a network of Fayetteville, AR concerned citizens. On Tuesday, Feb. 21 Fayetteville City Council approved a resolution to move ahead with composting at commercial establishments, as well as recycling of construction & demolition waste.… Read More
Ouachita Electric Cooperative, nestled deep in south-central Arkansas, is an unlikely innovator in a pair of industries struggling to adapt to shifting market dynamics: electricity and broadband.
Despite rising demand for energy efficiency and renewable electricity generation, large investor-owned utilities — and many rural electric co-ops — have resisted programs to address those needs. Likewise, corporate Internet service providers frequently offer shoddy service at high rates, a particular problem in rural areas with limited competition.… Read More
