On this episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast, Christopher Mitchell talks with John Windhausen, Executive Director of the Schools, Health, Libraries and Broadband Coalition (SHLB) and Alicja Johnson, SHLB Communication Manager. The non-profit advocates for anchor institutions to be at the table when communities are considering building municipal fiber networks. This is because these institutions are not only the cornerstones of healthy communities, but also well positioned as gateways for bringing reliable broadband to every household.
News
The southwest corner of New Hampshire will be blanketed with Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) networks over the next two years, as over 20 communities are drawing up plans to enter into public-private partnerships to boost high-speed Internet access in the Granite State. Most of the cities are considering partnerships with Consolidated Communications. Upon finishing construction of the most recent project service agreements, Consolidated will have upgraded an additional 16,000 residents to Internet speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second.
Residents and businesses in Drammen, Wisconsin are about to benefit from a combination of state grants and public financing to bring fiber connectivity which promises to cover the whole town over the next two years. Twin projects by neighboring telephone cooperatives will utilize a total of $1.9 million to expand into the town of about 800, located 10 miles southwest of Eau Claire, which has long struggled with adequate Internet service.
By Our Powers Combined
On Episode 16 of the Connect This! show, co-hosts Christopher and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) are joined by Sascha Segan (lead mobile analyst at PCMag.com) and Virgilio Fiorese (formerly of Ericsson, currently Senior Sales Director, Mavenir) to dig into 5G and the next generation of cellular networks to try and divorce the hype from the current and coming reality.
Chris, Travis, Sascha, and Virgilio talk about whether ordinary Americans should care about 5G today (for either their home or mobile connection), the regulatory and deployment components of a 5G rollout, how T-Mobile's 5G Home Internet service is working for users right now, marketing, and the difference between a 5G network and an intelligently designed Fiber-to-the-Premises build with Wi-Fi 6 for fixed-place users.
Today, the U.S. Treasury Department released an updated FAQ clarifying many of the concerns and questions raised by numerous community broadband advocates and members of Congress about the Interim Final Rules (IFR) on how Coronavirus relief funds in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) could be spent on broadband infrastructure.
Last Tuesday, residents of three coastal Maine communities - Camden, Rockport, and Thomaston - voted to support Town Meeting articles authorizing each town's Select Boards to enter an interlocal agreement establishing the MidCoast Internet Development Corporation (MIDC), a nonprofit regional broadband utility in the Penobscot Bay Region of MidCoast Maine. The ultimate goal of MIDC is to build an open-access, Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network to provide universal Internet access across any towns which vote to sign onto MIDC’s interlocal agreement.
News outlets in Ohio have begun to pick up on something we first reported (here and here, thanks to our local allies), sounding the alarm on an Ohio Senate budget amendment that, if passed, would effectively kill municipal broadband networks and other publicly owned and operated broadband projects in the Buckeye State.
This week on the podcast Christopher is joined by Douglas Adams, the CMO of Think Marketing (the firm which handles the marketing operations for the municipal network FairlawnGig in Ohio), Ernie Staten, Director of Public Service for the city of Fairlawn, and Angela Siefer, Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance.
The Ohio Senate attached an amendment to the state's budget bill last week which would place significant restrictions on the establishment of new community broadband solutions. It would also, if passed in its current form, place substantial barriers on the operation and expansion of existing municipal networks and other publicly owned and operated projects. This new fact sheet outlines the many long-term benefits that community broadband has brought to the state.
Join us on Thursday, June 17th at 5pm ET/4pm CT for a new episode of the Connect This! show, with co-hosts Christopher and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) joined by Sascha Segan (lead mobile analyst at PCMag.com) and Virgilio Fiorese (formerly of Ericsson, currently Senior Sales Director, Mavenir). Together, they'll dig into 5G and the next generation of cellular networks to try and divorce the hype from the current and coming reality.
Chris, Travis, Sascha, and Virgilio will talk about whether ordinary Americans should care about 5G today (for either their home or mobile connection) as well as the regulatory and deployment components of a 5G rollout. In addition, the group will talk about the Open RAN (Radio Access Network) interface standard.
The show will begin on Thursday, June 17 at 5pm ET/4pm CT.
Subscribe to the show using this feed, or visit ConnectThisShow.com
Municipal networks in the United States have proven that when dollars are invested in publicly owned information infrastructure, they often return value back to the community several times over. This new fact sheet [pdf] highlights municipal broadband success stories from across the country and some of the many benefits the networks have brought to the communities they serve.
These networks are directly accountable to the community and have proved themselves for more than 20 years in some cases, bringing lower prices to households than the large private providers. Municipal networks and partnerships account for 9 of the top 10 fastest broadband networks in the nation.
Merit Network, owner and operator of Michigan's research and education network and source of many wonderful resources for communities looking to improve local Internet access through its Moonshot initiative, is running a webinar on June 16th from 12-1pm CT on the benefits of the open access model:
Digital networks are long past the point where it’s sufficient to merely provide internet access. Having a sustainable network provides the freedom of information exchange, fosters a competitive ecosystem, and enables digital innovation essential for growth and long-term affordability, making it the best option for residents, institutions and businesses.
Experts from Merit Network, ETI Software Solutions and EntryPoint discuss the benefits of implementing an open-access network-a strong alternative to the pervasive single-service provider model used today.
ILSR is thrilled to welcome a collection of new faces to the Community Broadband Networks initiative team, bringing with them new energy and thoughtfulness which will continue to invigorate our work.
Dozmen Lee a political science major from Iowa State University who brings experience in grassroots organizations and helping build power for communities facing income disparities and adverse outcomes for youth populations. Doz joins us on a full-time basis as the new Outreach Coordinator, helping communities and local leaders at all stages considering investment in Internet infrastructure.
Well, they did it. The Ohio Senate passed its two-year $75-billion budget bill yesterday, which included an amendment that effectively bans the creation of municipal broadband networks without much in the way of public debate.
If the amendment contained in the Senate’s budget survives the budget process, it would make Ohio the first state in a decade to erect barriers to the establishment and expansion of municipal broadband networks.
The Ohio State Senate is set to vote today on the state budget bill that, if signed into law, would be a major setback for municipal broadband projects in the Buckeye State and protect the big incumbent Internet Service Providers from competition. If passed and signed into law it would make Ohio the first state in a decade to erect barriers to the establishment and expansion of municipal broadband networks.