This is a guest post from Jacob Levin – an advocate for a new economy that regenerates people, place and planet. Growing up as the son of an FCC official, dinner conversations often drifted towards tales of how incumbent ISPs were unfairly leveraging their political and economic power to reduce competition. He’s done policy research for … Read More
Nancy Scola, a reporter with Next City, wanted to know about municipal networks. Naturally, she turned to our own Chris Mitchell. Nancy and Chris discussed some of the most pressing issues swirling around municipal broadband. Nancy begins: At the moment more eyes than usual are focused on high-speed Internet’s uncertain future in the United States — … Read More
Ponca City’s free Wi-Fi has attracted attention over the years. A recent article in Government Technology focuses on the free Wi-Fi service and reveals the secret behind Ponca City’s jewel – their municipal fiber network. From the article: So what makes Ponca City’s wireless network a long-term success, and what suggestions do city officials have for … Read More
Residents in the Iron Triangle neighborhood of Richmond are now receiving free Wi-Fi as part of a new pilot program. The pilot, sponsored by Building Blocks for Kids (BBK), hopes to make Internet access widely available to the many local families who cannot afford it. New towers have been placed on local homes to extend access … Read More
Vidalia’s plans to offer free Wi-Fi are becoming reality. The Natchez Democrat recently reported that the City launched its free Wi-Fi in its new municipal complex. Vidalia received a $30,000 grant from the Telecommunications Development Fund (TDF) Foundation to invest in a wireless network to cover the complex. Apparently, visitors to the complex were often surprised to … Read More
Its extensive free Wi-Fi has brought Ponca City into the limelight but the mesh network did not appear overnight. The community effort began with miles of fiber network that provide connectivity and enable the mesh network financially and technically. Ponca City, home to 25,000, is located on Oklahoma’s north central border; Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Wichita … Read More
A growing number of local municipalities are finding ways to offer fee Wi-Fi. Vidalia is the latest according to a recent Miami Herald article. Community leaders hope to launch the new service by the spring of 2014. Vidalia, home to 4,300 residents, originally planned to use funds from a 2010 Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant … Read More
We recently reported on the WhiteSpaces Pilot Project from the Gigabit Libraries Network (GLN). In order to find out the results in the trenches, we contacted two participant communities: Delta County, Colorado and Pascagoula, Mississippi. The project connects libraries with vendors that supply equipment tapping into what has been television spectrum, or “white spaces.” A Wi-Fi … Read More
The Gigabit Libraries Network (GLN) has orchestrated a pilot project to optimize white space technology for connectivity in and near community libraries and schools. We discussed this approach on our most recent podcast with Don Means, coordinator of the project. White spaces wireless, sometimes referred to as “Super Wi-Fi” or “TVWS,” can provide limited access in rural … Read More
