Community Broadband Media Roundup - March 21

Alabama

Huntsville's broadband plan is a perfect example of public-private partnerships by Mac McCutcheon, AL.com

California

Internet gets go-ahead for lightning residential speeds by Jennifer Eden, Santa Monica Mirror

“Santa Monica is uniquely positioned to collaboratively innovate as a community to fully leverage the technology of a cutting edge fiber optic network,” Carter explained. “The goals of our Digital Inclusion Pilot go far beyond offering ridiculously fast internet. We fully intend to test replique de montre and launch services currently considered “futuristic” by the rest of the nation, during our pilot.”

San Francisco eyes municipal broadband by Bailey McCann, Civ Source

San Francisco's gigabit master plan: A sign of the times by Colin Wood, GovTech

San Francisco municipal broadband targets $26 monthly base price by Andrew Burger, Telecompetitor

In a news report, Christopher Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance said taking a public-private partnership approach enables city governments and gigabit fiber project partners the ability to concentrate on their respective strengths...

“I think for a long time, cities have wanted to build fiber networks where they would not have to offer services directly,” Mitchell was quoted. “So the cities would basically create the fiber network, but lease it or make it open to one or more providers that would use it to compete.”

Colorado

Google, Netflix stand up for community broadband in Colorado by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

Minnesota

Minnesota Governor's budget allocates $100 million to expand rural high-speed broadband by Ricardo Lopez, GovTech

New Hampshire

Public broadband drive by Priscilla Morrill, Monadnock Ledger-Transcript

Tennessee

House panel kills compromise on EPB broadband expansion to underserved areas of Hamilton, Bradley counties by Andy Sher, Chattanooga Times Free Press

Brooks, R-Cleveland, and other proponents later blasted powerful investor-owned telecommunication providers such as AT&T and Comcast for the loss. And conceding defeat this year, they vowed to return in 2017.

"It's a testament to the power of lobbying against this bill and not listening to our electorate," Brooks told reporters after leaving the House Business and Utilities Subcommittee, where his effort to narrow the original bill failed on a 5-3 vote.

Plucky cable billionaires defeat menace of small-town broadband by Shaun Nichols, The Register

Comcast, AT&T lobbyists help kill community broadband expansion in Tennessee by Chris Morran, The Consumerist

Washington D.C.

D.C. council weighs bill to study construction of free, citywide Wi-Fi network by Alex Koma, State Scoop

General

Experts say broadband is today's most important utility by Sean Kinney, RCR Wireless

In a March 12 discussion titled “Big City Broadband: Today’s Most Important Utility,” Gary Carter, community broadband manager for Santa Monica, California; Tro Shulte, city manager for Kansas City, Missouri; Kate Daly, SVP for economic transformation at the New York City Economic Development Corporation; and Greta Byrum, senior analyst for the Resilient Communities Program, highlighted the importance of cities actively pursuing broadband rather than “letting the industry decide,” as Byrum put it.

The long march to fiber will take many roads... by Elliot Noss, Medium

Federal appeals court deciding municipal broadband expansion by Travis Loller, Seattle Times