ftth Archives - Institute for Local Self-Reliance

23 Jul 2018

Small Business Owner Testifies on Internet Access in Congress, Drama Ensues

by Katie Kienbaum | Date: 23 Jul 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0

In North Carolina, no other rural community embodies the rural struggle for high-quality Internet access as well as Pinetops. At a recent hearing in D.C., one of the leading voices in Pinetops, Suzanne Coker Craig, testified before a legislative committee assembled to delve into the issue. During her short five minutes at the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Coker Craig described her town’s rescue by the local municipal network and subsequent betrayal by their state legislature.… Read More

19 Jul 2018

Local Cooperative is Bringing Internet Access to Rural Arkansas

by Katie Kienbaum | Date: 19 Jul 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0

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.

18 Jul 2018

Successful Ohio Community Broadband Networks Collaborate to Expand Connectivity

by Lisa Gonzalez | Date: 18 Jul 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0

In June, the city of Fairlawn and the Medina County Fiber Network in Ohio recently announced that they would soon begin working together, which expand FairlawnGig, the city’s municipal network. The collaboration will boost connectivity in the region for residents and provide more options for businesses in Akron and surrounding communities.… Read More

11 Jul 2018

Better Connectivity in New Hampshire: One Step at a Time

by Lisa Gonzalez | Date: 11 Jul 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0

Officials in Keene, New Hampshire, have been discussing ways to improve local connectivity for several years. In early July, they received more food for thought when the consultant they hired presented the results of a broadband study.… Read More

5 Jul 2018

Fiber Internet Provider Lights Up Communities in Idaho and North Carolina

by Hannah Rank | Date: 5 Jul 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0

Ting Fiber has continued its expansion into two more U.S. metropolitan areas, lighting fiber up in a northern Idaho town and planting a flag in a city south of the research triangle in North Carolina. Residents of the region of greater Sandpoint, Idaho (a service area of nearly 10,000 residents), and Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina (population of around 25,000), will soon see the benefits of fiber Internet access with Ting’s Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) service.… Read More

26 Jun 2018

Washington State Island Community Gains Connectivity from Local Provider

by Hannah Rank | Date: 26 Jun 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0

The San Juan Islands cluster in the most northwest tip of Washington state, off the coast of the cities of Bellingham and Anacortes, and just spitting distance from the Canadian border. Hitching a ride on a ferry boat is the only way to access this remote but beautiful chain. A little more than a third of the residents of the 20 islands are seasonal, and the islands’ median age is 55 years old, according to Rock Island Communications. Visitors and residents alike experience the rough weather, thick Douglas fir overgrowth, and rocky terrain one would expect from the Pacific Northwest coast. These environs make for beautiful vistas – the islands are considered a vacation destination – but less than ideal conditions for high speed Internet access.… Read More

25 Jun 2018

Municipal Broadband Network Nabs Title of Fastest Provider in the Nation

by Lisa Gonzalez | Date: 25 Jun 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0

Within the top five fastest ISPs, two are municipal networks: #1 NextLight from Longmont, Colorado, and EPB Fiber Optics from Chattanooga. Two others involve publicly owned conduit — #3 Sonic in San Franciscoand #5 Allo, operating in Lincoln, Nebraska.

When local communities have the opportunity to make investments to improve connectivity, they typically know what will work best for them. We’ve documented how each of these communities have improved economic development, improved Internet access for schools and other institutions, cut costs, and improved digital inclusion.… Read More

20 Jun 2018

Cooperative Fiber Brings High-Speed Internet Access to Rural Ohio

by Hannah Rank | Date: 20 Jun 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0

CC has served rural and farming communities north of Columbus since the 1930s. It currently provides electric in Delaware and Morrow counties, as well as slices of six other surrounding counties. It also provides some fiber access to area school districts and businesses through its brand Enlite, partially by harnessing CC’s electric infrastructure.

Last October in a Facebook post, CC cited a member survey wherein “many members in our serving area report insufficient access to reliable Internet service.” The co-op says it’s broken ground on constructing its new fiber network earlier this spring, and will begin offering services sometime in June for select high-need clients in western Delaware County.… Read More

12 Jun 2018

North Carolina Legislature Sides with Big Cable Providers, Foreshadowing Future Fights

by ILSR | Date: 12 Jun 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0

Rural Pinetop residents are getting a glimpse of the treatment they are going to receive from Suddenlink, even before the ISP has started offering service in the small North Carolina community. According to locals, Suddenlink subcontractors are busting water mains, connecting fiber without homeowner permission, and spreading lies about the Town’s favored community-broadband provider, Wilson’s municipal network, Greenlight Community Broadband.… Read More