“The vast majority of Europeans still only have DSL service available, which we in the United States consider really almost an obsolete technology now.” – Jeffrey Eisenbach, Director of the Center for Internet, Communications, and Technology Policy, American Enterprise Institute. For the second time this year, one of the major defenders of the cable and telephone … Read More
In a revealing video about the Internet access problem in rural Minnesota, Annandale City Administrator Kelly Hinnenkamp describes her town’s struggle with connectivity. The video is the latest in a series on the Minnesota Senate DFL YouTube page intended to shed light on the critical situation in the state. Hinnenkamp describes broadband in the areas outside … Read More
As in much of rural America, communities in Greater Minnesota struggle with connectivity. Some areas have no choice at all, forced to rely on dial-up or slow DSL. Others have an incumbent cable provider. A few local community leaders in Minnesota, conscious of the need for broadband to save public dollars, encourage economic development, and get … Read More
This fact sheet provides information on the most common ways local communities finance their municipal networks. When a community decides it needs to establish its own publicly owned network infrastructure, one of the biggest challenges is financing the investment. Each community is unique but three main methods of financing are most popular. This fact sheet offers … Read More
Santa Monica has built a fiber network called City Net that has lowered its own costs for telecommunications, helped to retain businesses, and attracted new businesses to the community. Built incrementally without debt, it offers a roadmap any community can draw lessons from. Unlike the majority of municipal fiber networks, Santa Monica does not have a … Read More
Kansas is the latest legislative battle ground in the fight to preserve local self-reliance. The Kansas Legislature is taking up SB 304 to limit local municipalities’ authority to invest in publicly owned networks. While the language of the bill states the purpose is to “encourage widespread use of technological advances” for video and broadband at competitive … Read More
ILSR and the Center for Popular Democracy now offer the Building Community Access Policy Brief. We teamed up with CPD to bring you a fact sheet that succinctly describes our country’s problem with unequal access to broadband. The fact sheet also offers basic solutions that can facilitate development of publicly owned networks. In addition to offering … Read More
Shafter, California, faced tough economic times when the end of the housing boom derailed its fiber optic network plans. Rather than discard a vision to use high-speed broadband as a catalyst for better quality of life and economic development, the community adjusted its plan and is realizing its long-term goal. With no borrowing or bonding, this … Read More
ILSR’s Wireless Internet 101 fact sheet provides quick information on wireless technologies and policy. Most of us take wireless for granted. We use it every day but we have very little understanding of how it works, its limitations, or how it is managed. This fact sheet offers answers to questions many of us ask at one … Read More
