The Center for Public Integrity has followed the local choice debate closely. Their team has travelled to Tennessee and North Carolina to talk to lawmakers, visited communities seeking high-speed networks, and dug deep into the source of influential campaign funds. Allan Holmes and his team have assembled a collection of articles and audio that offers the … Read More
In Montana, local businesses and the city of Bozeman have been working on a public-private partnership approach to expanding Internet access that is likely to involve the city building an open access fiber network. We discuss their approach this week with Brit Fontenot, Economic Development Director for the city of Bozeman; David Fine, Bozeman Economic Development … Read More
As the time approached for FCC Commissioners to choose to allow Wilson and Chattanooga to serve surrounding communities, leaders from municipalities with publicly owned networks shared their experiences. Jill Boudreau, Mayor of Mount Vernon, Washington, published her community’s experience with their muni in GoSkagit.com. As in the recent testimonial from Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller, Mayor Boudreau described how Mount … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 13, 2015 CONTACT: Rebecca Toews, rebecca@ILSR.org, (612)808-0689 Key Passages and Arguments From The FCC Decision to Remove Barriers to Municipal Networks in TN and NC The Federal Communications Commission has released the order that allows Chattanooga and Wilson, as well as many other cities in North Carolina and Tennessee, to build, … Read More
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors in California voted unanimously recently to accept consultants’ recommendations to take steps improve broadband in the county. Some of those recommendations included investing in infrastructure to improve both urban and rural areas in the northern county. The Davis Enterprise reported on the meeting from February 24th: With its diverse mix … Read More
Longmont’s NextLight is well known in the municipal networks space; now other media markets are starting to notice the most recent network in the Centennial State. CCTV America profiled the network recently, highlighting its importance to local businesses. CCTV spoke with a local tech business owner who had recently connected to the municipal network: Jon Rice … Read More
Arlington is finally ready to open up its network to local businesses seeking better connectivity, reports local news WJLA. The county board recently voted unanimously to allow providers to lease dark fiber from approximately 10 miles of the 59-mile network. They hope to spur economic development and entice ISPs to provide better connectivity for residents via … Read More
In a recent meeting of the Dakota County Administration, Finance and Policy Committee, Dakota County’s Network Collaboration Engineer David Asp provided an update to Commissioners on the status of their broadband plan. Dakota has saved millions of dollars with their network through collaborative efforts, innovative dig-once approaches, and specially deveoped software. As part of its long … Read More
As the Senate version of Missouri’s latest anti-muni bill, SB 266 [PDF], moved forward recently, a group of private sector companies and interested organizations appealed to state lawmakers [PDF] urging them to stop it in its tracks. In January we reported on HB 437, introduced by House Member Rocky Miller. Its Senate companion, which establishes an … Read More
