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Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
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Chattanooga Launches Nations Largest Public Full Fiber Network
On Tuesday, September 15, EPB, the public power utility serving Chattanooga and nearby communities in Tennessee, rolled out fully fiber-powered triple-play services to 17,000, a number expected to grow by July 2010, when services will be available to some 100,000 people and businesses.
Next Week: NATOA Conference
I will be moderating a panel on rural broadband next Friday at the NATOA Annual Conference in New Orleans. Feel free to contact me if you want to meet up while there. I will be at the conference on Thursday and Friday.
Muni Fiber in San Francisco Eats into Digital Divide
San Francisco has leveraged its municipally-owned fiber in a program to overcome the digital divide. Projects like this are a good early step for larger communities. First, invest in fiber to public buildings, schools, etc., to cut costs from leased lines (often, while upgrading capacity). Second, begin to leverage that fiber to increase affordable broadband availability in the community.
Seattle Mayoral Candidate Sees Public Fiber as Essential
Glenn Fleishman, of the excellent Wi-Fi Net News, recently interviewed Mike McGinn, a candidate for Mayor of Seattle that has talked frequently about the need for a publicly owned full fiber network in the City.
FCC Chair: We Need Network Neutrality
The Chair of the Federal Communications Commission has taken a stand for network neutrality - the founding principle of openness of the Internet. In short, network neutrality means the entity providing you access to the Internet cannot interfere with the sites you choose to visit - it cannot speed them up or slow them down in order to increase their profits.
Verizon Actions Show Carriers Will Not Wire Rural America
In a recent post the NY Times Bits Blog, Saul Hansell reports "Verizon Boss Hangs Up on Landline Phone Business" - something we have long known.
Broadband - An Ecology, Not a Market
Harold Feld at Public Knowledge created another five minute video on broadband policy - embedded below - that I heartily recommend.
The Broadband Definition Matters
In all the wrangling over how we should define broadband, I wanted to step back and remember why the definition is important.
Information networks have become essential for business, education, and entertainment. The broadband definition originally meant something faster than the dial-up speeds that topped out at 56kbps.
Muni Projects Lead in Europe
Muniwireless.com recently noted "Eastern and Northern Europe driving broadband and FTTH growth." Of particular interest to us is the crucial role of public investments in creating that growth:
Roland Montagne also says that competition has been driving new FTTH/FTTB projects.
Proactive Broadband Communities and NATOA Awards
Craig Settles recently wrote "Debunking Myths about Government-Run Broadband" to defend publicly owned networks (the title is unfortunate as many networks are publicly owned but not necessarily run directly by the government).
FCC Creating National Broadband Plan With Plenty of Input from Industry
This is a slightly older story, but I wanted to make sure it made the rounds.
In "FCC Hires Industry Shill to Develop US National Broadband Plan," OpenLeft.com's Chris Bowers details the shady history of Scott Wallstein, the economics director of the FCC broadband task force.
His past
Ranking Broadband Stimulus Applications in Minnesota
Our focus on the broadband stimulus is almost entirely on last-mile infrastructure because it is the most challenging and expensive problem to solve before all Americans will have affordable access to the broadband networks they need in the modern era.
Re-Defining Broadband
The FCC recently asked for comments about how broadband should be defined. There was a marked difference between those who put community needs first and those who put profits first. Companies like AT&T and Comcast were quick to argue that the FCC should not change the definition of broadband for reasons ranging from too much paperwork to the suggestion that rural people have no need for VoIP.
Longmont, Colorado, Considers Muni Broadband
The second line of Rachel Carter's story at TimesCall.com captures the reason we care about community broadband networks:
But others argued that it’s not about whether the city will jump into the cable or Internet business; it’s about giving the city options and giving voters a choice.Longmont, Colorado, wil
Johnson City, Tennessee, Considers Network
Johnson City, Tennessee, is considering the pros and cons of expanding the fiber network its public electrical utility is installing to connect substations in order to improve grid reliability.
Lafayette Plans Faster Growth; US BB Embarrasses; Seattle Needs Volunteers
Catching up a variety of recent stories:
An article from the Lafayette Advertiser notes: LUS Fiber plans faster rollout.
Connected Nation Captures Minnesota
Minnesota is now in poor company, along with several other states that have chosen to use telecom industry-backed Connected Nation (if unfamiliar with CN, read this report) to supply data from Minnesota to the federal government as part of the national broadband map that is being constructed.
Just how this came about explains why a group like
Statewide Video Franchising: Bad for Communities
Folks who are mostly interested in broadband are probably unfamiliar with video franchising laws. Many people still apparently believe that cable companies are able to get exclusive franchises from the city (granting them a monopoly on providing cable television). However, that is not true and has not been true for many years.
Community Broadband in July/August Broadband Properties Magazine
The July/August issue of Broadband Properties features a number of stories relating to community broadband.
Wireless Problems Due to Technology, not Ownership
Opponents of publicly owned broadband networks often hold up examples of wireless networks that did not turn out as planned -- more often than not, they ignorantly use examples of privately owned networks like Earthlink networks in Philly, Houston, or proposed privately owned networks in San Fran and Chicago.