AT&T Is Abandoning Tens of Thousands of American Households in the Deep South Who Have No Other Internet Access Option

Date: 8 Oct 2020 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

AT&T has stopped making connections to users subscribing to its DSL Internet as of October 1st. The most conservative number of those affected by the decision will be about 80,000 households that have no other option.… Read More

Power Plant Securitization: Coming to a State Capitol Near You

Date: 2 May 2019 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

As clean energy advocates urge retirement of fossil fuel power plants, securitization has become a billion-dollar word with huge implications for who will pay for and who will own the clean energy future. So, what is securitization, and how does it play a role in a clean energy transition?… Read More

Voices of 100%: Abita Springs Fights for Community Solar in Louisiana — Episode 65 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

Date: 19 Nov 2018 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Nearly 100 U.S. cities of different sizes have made formal commitments to 100 percent renewable energy. In our sixth episode of Voices of 100%, a multi-part series of Local Energy Rules, we feature the small town of Abita Springs, the first city in Louisiana to set such a goal. LeAnn Magee, who chairs the grassroots, volunteer-led Abita Committee for Energy Sustainability that helped pass the town’s resolution, speaks with co-director of ILSR and Energy Democracy initiative director John Farrell about the motivations for and approach to Abita Springs’ commitment — starting with municipal buildings and advocating for community solar.… Read More

The Movement for Free College Tuition Is Growing

Date: 15 Dec 2017 | posted in: From the Desk of David Morris, The Public Good | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In 2015, President Obama proposed making community college free nationwide. He pointed to a pilot free tuition program just being launched by Tennessee for recent high school graduates and might not have been aware of a free tuition program operating in Louisiana for almost two decades. The election of Donald Trump killed the prospect of federal … Read More

Lafayette, Louisiana’s Fiber Network Expanding to Neighboring Communities

Date: 14 Dec 2017 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

For more than two years, the prospect of expanding to two nearby communities has been on the LUS Fiber to-do list in Lafayette. Now that the municipal fiber optic network has achieved at least a 40 percent take rate, the time is right to reach Youngsville and Broussard. In 2016, the utility generated $36 million in … Read More

Grassroots Broadband Groups Grow Across the U.S.

Date: 26 Sep 2017 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Community networks are hyper-local movements. As we have researched these networks, we have often uncovered the work of grassroots activists trying to make a difference in their cities. Today, we’ve gathered together a collection to show how small groups of local people can make a big difference.… Read More

Boston Globe Profiles Lafayette; OpenCape Inspired

Date: 18 Jun 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

 In a recent Boston Globe Opinion, Dante Ramos notes that Boston has a reputation as a technology hub. When seeking options and affordability, however, Ramos recounts the successful approach of Lafayette, Louisiana: Today, the top broadband speeds advertised to residential customers in Boston are about one-ninth of what’s available in Lafayette. A municipal network in Boston … Read More

Opportunities and Challenges as Lafayette Considers Muni Fiber Expansion – Community Broadband Bits Episode 144

Date: 31 Mar 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

After we heard that Lafayette’s LUS Fiber was considering expanding to some nearby communities, we knew we had to set up an interview with Terry Huval, Director of the Lafayette Utilities System in Louisiana. In our interview this week, Terry and I discuss Lafayette’s success, the legacy of the law creating special barriers that only apply … Read More

Lafayette Congratulates Wilson; Offers Support After FCC Ruling

Date: 3 Mar 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

When the FCC announced its intention last week to neutralize the negative impacts of Tennessee and North Carolina anti-muni laws, celebrating reached far beyond Chattanooga and Wilson. In Lafayette, home to LUS Fiber, City-Parish President Joey Durel took time to write a supportive letter to Wilson’s Mayor Bruce Rose. We reproduce the text of that letter … Read More

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