City Council Moves Forward on Muni Project in Ellsworth, Maine

Date: 24 Feb 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The Ellsworth City Council voted on February 9th to proceed with the first steps to developing yet another municipal fiber network in Maine. Community leaders plan to develop open access fiber infrastructure. Five ISPs have already expressed an interest in working with the city to provide services via the network. Ellsworth is home to approximately 7,500 … Read More

Time Warner Cable Successfully Blocks Funds for Community Network in Maine; Project to Continue

Date: 12 Feb 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Time Warner Cable recently fought to prevent a collaborative project in Maine from receiving $125,000 in state broadband funding, reported the Bangor Daily News.  We reported in December that Old Town, Orono, the University of Maine, and GWI had been awarded ConnectME funds. The collaborators earmarked the funding for a stretch of about 4 miles of fiber which … Read More

Time Warner Cable Successfully Blocks Funds for Community Network in Maine; Project to Continue

Date: 12 Feb 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Time Warner Cable recently fought to prevent a collaborative project in Maine from receiving $125,000 in state broadband funding, reported the Bangor Daily News.  We reported in December that Old Town, Orono, the University of Maine, and GWI had been awarded ConnectME funds. The collaborators earmarked the funding for a stretch of about 4 miles of fiber which … Read More

ILSR Joins Independent Business Groups in Pushing for Disclosure of Corporate Subsidies

Date: 4 Feb 2015 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

ILSR joined other members of the Advocates for Independent Business coalition in submitting a joint public comment letter in support of a landmark proposal to require local and state governments, as part of their financial reporting, to annually disclose the tax breaks and incentives they have provided to corporations in the name of economic development. … Read More

California Law Offers New Way to Finance Broadband Projects

Date: 16 Oct 2014 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

On September 29th, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that may make building community networks in his state just a bit easier. The memorably-named “Assembly Bill No. 2292” allows broadband projects to be included among the types of public works that can be financed using Infrastructure Financing Districts (IFDs). IFDs are entities formed … Read More

First Muni Fiber Net in Maine – Community Broadband Bits Episode 115

Date: 9 Sep 2014 | posted in: MuniNetworks, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

By building a fiber line to allow some local businesses to get next-generation Internet access, Rockport became the first municipal fiber network in the state of Maine. Town Manager Richard Bates joins us for episode 115 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. We discuss the financing behind the network and their partnership with local Internet Service … Read More

Rockport Builds Maine’s First Municipal Network

Date: 22 Aug 2014 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Rockport, a coastal town of just 3,300, became a statewide leader last month by launching Maine’s first municipal broadband network. Offering symmetrical gigabit speeds to businesses and residents, Rockport’s network is a carrier-neutral dark fiber system, with local private provider GWI offering retail services.  The reach of the network is limited, as it consists of only … Read More

Bozeman Kicks Off Broadband Planning Effort

Date: 7 Aug 2014 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

With a meeting on July 17th of city officials, local residents, institutional stakeholders, and technology consultants, Bozeman officially began its process of creating a master plan for its Broadband Initiative. The process will be lead by Design Nine, a consulting firm based in Virginia, and will include a survey of existing assets and needs, feasibility studies, … Read More

Rural Indiana Looks to Tax Increment Financing to Build Fiber Networks

Date: 30 Jul 2014 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Wabash County, Indiana wants to expand its access to high speed internet through a fiber optic network build out, and is planning to use a distinctive financial tool to do so. The Wabash County Redevelopment Commission has begun the process of assigning a special Economic Development Area designation for the purpose of helping to finance new … Read More

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