30 Jun 2021

PCMag’s Fastest ISPs in America List Once Again Proves the Value of Cities Investing in Internet Infrastructure

by | Date: 30 Jun 2021 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

After three years in a row with similar results, PCMag’s “Fastest ISPs in America” for 2021 analysis shows a clear trend: community owned and/or operated broadband infrastructure supports networks which, today, handily beat the huge monopoly Internet Service Providers (ISPs) – cable and telephone alike – for sheer speed. The latest list proves it. Of the ten-fastest ISPs in the country, all of them feature operators that either are cities themselves or use city-owned fiber or conduit to deliver service across whole or parts of their footprint. … Read More
12 May 2016

Minnesota’s Broadband Grant Program: Getting the Rules Right

by | Date: 12 May 2016 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Minneapolis, MN —In its first two years of implementation, the Minnesota Border-to-Border program distributed $30 million to 31 rural Minnesota communities. But the state has not put enough money into the program and needs to put more focus on getting investment in Greater Minnesota cities to spur economic development. “This funding is essential to greater Minnesota communities … Read More
18 Apr 2016

RS Fiber: Fertile Fields for new Rural Internet Cooperative

by | Date: 18 Apr 2016 | posted in: MuniNetworks, Press Release | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

21ST CENTURY FARMS REQUIRE 21ST CENTURY CONNECTIVITY. Denied Access by telephone and cable companies, they created a new model. Winthrop, MN — A new trend is emerging in rural communities throughout the United States: Fiber-to-the-Farm. Tired of waiting for real Internet access from big companies, farmers are building it themselves. Communities in and around Minnesota’s rural … Read More
9 Nov 2015

SandyNet Goes Gig: A Model for Anytown, USA

by | Date: 9 Nov 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Many of the most beautiful communities in the United States are in remote areas where incumbent cable and telephone companies have decided not to offer modern, high-quality Internet connectivity. Sandy, Ore., is one of them. Some 10,000 people live there among the lush green forests and beautiful vistas of the “Gateway to Mount Hood,” 25 miles … Read More
13 Oct 2014

Correcting Community Fiber Fallacies: The Reality of Lafayette’s Gigabit Network

by | Date: 13 Oct 2014 | posted in: MuniNetworks, Press Release | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In just the last year the Lafayette Utility System (LUS) gigabit network has attracted 1300 high-tech jobs. Chairman Wheeler praises the network for doing what many communities hope to do, but cannot because of state laws limiting municipal broadband networks. Critics are desperate to discredit the network, using false statements and misinformation. The Reason Foundation released a paper by Steven … Read More
30 Sep 2014

All Hands On Deck: Minnesota Local Government Models for Expanding Fiber Internet Access

by | Date: 30 Sep 2014 | posted in: MuniNetworks, Press Release | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Minneapolis, MN —In 2010 the Minnesota legislature set a goal: universal access to high speed broadband throughout the state by 2015. As 2015 approaches we know that large parts of Greater Minnesota will not achieve that goal, even as technological advances make the original benchmarks increasingly obsolete. But some Minnesota communities are significantly exceeding those goals. … Read More
5 Feb 2012

ILSR’s Christopher Mitchell Comments on Lafayette, Louisiana’s Community Owned High-Speed

by | Date: 5 Feb 2012 | posted in: information, Media Coverage, MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

USA Today, February 5, 2012 In his article, journalist Rick Jervis turned to Christopher Mitchell on the development of community networks. More than 150 local governments across the country have built or are planning to build cyber networks, says Christopher Mitchell of the Minneapolis-based Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a non-profit group that advocates community development and … Read More