Community Broadband Media Roundup - September 16

Alabama

Digital divide: Broadband access in Alabama by Greg Privett, Waay TV

California

Buying PG&E’s distribution network could also make municipal broadband possible by Preston Rhea, San Francisco Examiner

Time to provide real broadband service by Grant Beltrami, Napa Valley Register

Alternatives to getting broadband internet in Nevada County by Erika Kosina, The Union 

Florida

Lakeland, Fla., invites resident feedback on broadband by Sara-Megan-Walsh, The Ledger 

Tallahassee broadband study likely to be completed by December by Karl Etters, Tallahassee Democrat

Georgia

Georgia rural broadband situation worse than FCC maps showed, new mapping underway by Emma Hurt, WABE

Maine

7-town Broadband Committee meets with ConnectME head by Mary Ellen Barnes, Boothbay Register 

Ohio

FairlawnGig fiber boosts regional economy by Marsha Zager, Broadband Communities

Home prices rose 8.7 percent in the first year after the network went live and 8.5 percent the following year; although not all the increase is attributable to FairlawnGig, home prices in the surrounding county rose by only 1.9 percent. Homes in Fairlawn stay on the market for an average of only six days, also unusual by local standards.

Virginia

Why are we still waiting on broadband? By Jennifer Woofter, Roanoke Times 

Washington

This island town is building a public broadband network. Is it a model for bridging digital divide? By Monica Nickelsburg, GeekWire

“The Internet of things is coming and although we don’t know exactly — really we don’t even know vaguely — what the world will look like in 2050, it’s going to require high-speed connectivity,” said Jim Lemberg, the manager of the Anacortes broadband project. 

General

To challenge FCC’s bad broadband maps, groups demand a regular process by Ryan Johnston, StateScoop

Better broadband mapping needs granularity, shapefiles, industry leaders tell Hill by Gary Arlen, Broadcasting & Cable 

For state CIOs, broadband an essential and pressing challenge, StateScoop