Muni Broadband: Why Not in San Francisco?

Sunday March 10, 2013

Tim Redmond of the San Francisco Bay Guardian asks why publicly owned networks have worked in so many places but is not being seriously considered in San Francisco:

Then sit back and ask yourself why you're paying so much money every month for the rotten service you get from Comcast and AT&T. Ask your friends, ask around work; is anyone really happy with their broadband service? Do you think you're getting a good deal for the price?

Note that I later clarified a misunderstanding, our Community Internet Map tracks local governments that have made investments, and does not claim that every network is a success. The vast majority are, but there are a few that have encountered serious difficulties and are still struggling.

Digital Equity LA Summit Pushes CPUC to Ditch Priority Areas Map

Sean Gonsalves

on Feb 6, 2023

The Digital Equity LA Summit last week focused on the challenges ahead. Front and center: urging state officials to fix the broadband priority maps the state will use to target where to invest $2 billion in state broadband grant funds

Study: Low Income LA County Neighborhoods Pay More for Internet Service Than Wealthier Neighborhoods

Sean Gonsalves

on Oct 19, 2022

A new study from the Digital Equity LA initiative lays bare how low-income communities of color are impacted by the quiet business decisions of the county’s monopoly Internet service provider. Slower and More Expensive/Sounding the Alarm: Disparities in Advertised Pricing for Fast, Reliable Broadband details how Charter Spectrum “shows a clear and consistent pattern of the provider reserving its best offers - high speed at low cost - for the wealthiest neighborhoods in LA County.” Not only does it highlight how economically vulnerable households in LA County pay more for slower service than those in wealthy neighborhoods, it also provides evidence for how financially-strapped households are also saddled with onerous contracts and are rarely targeted by advertisements for Charter Spectrum’s low cost plans.

Rancho Cucamonga Cultivates Greenfield Fiber Vineyard

Sean Gonsalves

on Jul 12, 2022

In the 1980s, Rancho Cucamonga proclaimed itself “The City with a Plan.” Back then, the plan was to remake this once rural enclave known for its vineyards into more than just one of the many sunny suburbs of Los Angeles. That forward-looking spirit was revived again 30 years later as city leaders looked to cultivate a digital vineyard with the creation of a “Fiber Optic Master Plan” – a six-year $13 million investment plan that targets the city’s new development. Today, the city along the famed Route 66 owns and operates Rancho Cucamonga Municipal Broadband in partnership with Onward, a local private Internet service provider.

Santa Clara County Moves Toward Municipal Fiber Network

Karl Bode

on Jul 11, 2022

Driven by Covid frustration and a boom in available grant money, Santa Clara County, California officials say they’re moving forward with their plans to explore a municipal broadband network, with the formal next steps expected to be announced at the tail end of this year.

New York’s First Bite of the Municipal Broadband Apple

Sean Gonsalves

on Jun 9, 2022

Breaking new ground in New York, state leaders are launching the first municipal fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) projects in the Empire State with funds from its new ConnectALL Initiative. Four small rural communities in four different counties will be the beneficiaries of New York’s initial foray into municipal broadband. At the end of May, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office announced the $10 million grant award, which will fund fiber deployments to the Village of Sherburne in Chenango County, the Town of Nichols in Tioga County, the Town of Diana in Lewis County, and the Town of Pitcairn in St. Lawrence County.