News

California

San Francisco: Building Community Broadband to Protect Net Neutrality and Online Privacy by Katharine Trendacosta, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Businesses in Taunton, Massachusetts, already have access to fiber optic connectivity offered by Taunton Municipal Light Plant (TMLP). In an effort to bring better connectivity to the rest of the community, TMLP is now connecting residents through a “fiberhood” approach.

When the folks in Kitsap County, Washington’s Lookout Lane neighborhood banded together and used a Local Utility District (LUD) to get better connectivity, they were thinking about their own homes, not about setting a precedent.

In rural northeast Oklahoma, the city of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, built a high-speed fiber network to their residents and then expanded Internet access their rural neighbors with fixed wireless. Sallisaw’s Internet department, DiamondNet, now serves about 2,600 customers in northeastern Oklahoma.

PUDs in Washington have been developing fiber optic networks as open access infrastructure for decades. Even though ports have the same authorization to develop broadband infrastructure, their authority is limited. Currently, a port may operate telecommunications facilities for its own uses within and beyond its district, but can only provide wholesale services within the districts.

Thirteen communities in central Vermont will ask residents if they want to authorize a communications union district, the first step toward a regional publicly owned Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network.

Which Towns Will Participate?

Alabama

City looking at broadband access models by Michele Gerlach, Andalusia Star News

If you're looking for a resource that focuses on wireless connectivity, check out the MuniNetworks.org Wireless Page. Rather than an exhaustive list of every municipal wireless (muni-wireless) project, we've created an introduction to the potential of wireless technologies. Explore commonly held misconceptions about wireless, gain a better understanding of spectrum, and learn how cities have built wireless projects.

Ammon, Idaho, has received a lot of attention in the past couple of years for their innovative approach to improving local connectivity with a publicly owned fiber optic network.

Iowa communities have invested in local municipal networks for decades. Across their state map sits rural communities where local residents and businesses can connect to high-quality Internet access that rivals urban centers. On March 20th - 22nd, two separate events in Iowa will celebrate local efforts to improve broadband.

Community Broadband Summit 2018

Maple syrup, the Green Mountains, and network neutrality. On February 15th, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed Executive Order No. 2-18, the Internet Neutrality in State Procurement, following closely the actions of four other Governors over the past few weeks.

Spring will be here before we know it. So will local spring action at the voting booth, which for the past several years has meant that communities in Colorado will ask voters to reclaim local telecommunications authority. This year, the folks in Firestone will address the issue on April 3rd.

The Pursuit Of Better Broadband Goes On

Last fall, the northern Minnesota community of Ely took up a feasibility study to determine the possibilities of better connectivity with publicly owned Internet infrastructure. They also wanted to explore local interest in investment. After conducting a survey and reviewing the situation, local officials are contemplating moving ahead with two pilot projects.

Alabama

This is how politicians should deal with bad cable companies by Charles Mills, BGR

The city of Ammon, Idaho, has used its open access publicly owned network to create an environment that encourages competition for residents and businesses. In addition to giving them control over which services they use and which companies they patronize, the city is doing its best to share information.

The community of Peabody, Massachusetts, plans to invest in a fiber optic loop as a first step toward better local connectivity.

From I-Net To My Net 

When the San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative (SLVREC) decided to invest in fiber for more efficient electrical operations, they also took the first step toward improving Internet access for residents and businesses in Colorado’s San Luis Valley.

After the FCC chose to overturn federal network neutrality protections on December 14th, 2017, open Internet advocates and elected officials that favor network neutrality have sought avenues past the Commission to reinstate the policy.

Alabama

Mediacom takes shot from Alabama mayor by Daniel Frankel, FierceCable

California

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided Community Development Block Grant funds (CDBG) to West Virginia as in other states.