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North Carolina Fight over Mapping
Fiona Morgan, a frequent writer at Indyweek in North Carolina, has weighed in with excellent coverage of the situation in North Carolina as the cable and telephone companies continue their attempts at stifling competition in the state.
Keep the Internet Free
Megan Tady reminds us both that today is the last day to submit comments to the FCC about a national broadband policy and why we need to fight for it.
It comes down to this: we have an unprecedented opportunity to finally create a national broadband plan in the U.S.
Roundup: Chattanooga, Seattle, Portland, and More
A couple of short interesting stories this week:
The Chattanoogan.com published a "Declaration of Independence from Comcast", written by a "fi-oneer" or person who is testing the new publicly owned FTTH services.
NOFA Reactions: a Mini Round Up to Broadband Stimulus Rules
I have been digesting the NOFA (the rules for broadband stimulus projects) and I am stunned at just how much I disagree with them.
Op-Ed: Support Publicly Owned Broadband
The Charleston Gazette published this opinion piece encouraging publicly owned broadband on July 5, 2009:
Geoff Daily Vidchat about MuniNetworks.org
Geoff Daily, from App-Rising.com, and I recently did a vidchat about muninetworks.org and its purpose. App-Rising.com pulled some key points from it, but you can view the entire 9 minute segment below.
Reclaim the Media Report: Seattle Needs Public Broadband
Reclaim the Media has published a position paper making the case for a publicly owned fiber network in Seattle. Seattle is in a difficult position, being served by Comcast and Qwest's copper networks while the suburbs are being snapped up by Verizon's fiber-powered FiOS and nearby publicly owned Tacoma Click!
Fairpoint May Declare Bankrupty
Last year, Verizon sold all of its landline assets in New England to a tiny company named Fairpoint.
UTOPIA's Roller Coaster Ride Continues
Anyone who tells you that UTOPIA is a "success" or that it is a "failure" is probably minimizing important problems or victories for the network. The Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency, like so many other things in life, is a mixed bag.
For those new to UTOPIA, it is a large multi-community full fiber network that operates by only selling wholesale access to service providers.
Spring Issue of NATOA Journal
NATOA, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, comprises many people who are in, and work on, community broadband networks.
Video on the Economics of Open Access
Benoît Felton of Fiber Evolution says that Open Access makes Economic Sense - in four parts:
Short Shots
Some shorter news items from this weeks' news:
Monticello Lawsuit Saga Over; MN Supreme Court Declines Review
In a quick followup, the Minnesota Supreme Court has affirmed the obvious by refusing to review the Appeals Court decision in the TDS (acting as "Bridgewater") v. Monticello case. This means the Appeals Court decision stands; Minnesota cities have the authority to bond for broadband networks.
nDanville Network Helps Police, Economic Development
Though Danville, Virginia, was hit hard by the simultaneously decline of tobacco and textile industries, the community has responded: Danville Utilities has been building a state of the art all fiber network. Like many communities, they built a backbone and connected the schools and government buildings first. They then started to connect businesses.
Nation's Largest Citywide FTTH Network to be Completed Next Year
Chattanooga, Tennessee is predicting it will offer FTTH in its entire service area by next year.
Salisbury Starts Building FTTH Network
Salisbury, a city of nearly 30,000 in North Carolina, has started building its full fiber-to-the-home network. Salisbury had some difficulty in funding the network at first due to the collapsing economy last year. However, they securing financing in November 2008 and have now started building the network.
Community Broadband - High Capacity, Low Cost
To celebrate the launching of MuniNetworks.org, we wanted to highlight some of the best broadband available in the United States.
If you were looking for the best citywide broadband networks available in the United States, you would almost definitely find publicly owned networks.
Monticello "Wins" Appeal
Monticello, a small town in Minnesota just outside the metro area, once again prevailed in court against frivolous charges from TDS Telecom, the incumbent telephone provider (doing business as Bridgewater in the court case).
Salisbury, NC, Fends Off Comical Attack on Community Broadband
Cities investigating community fiber networks are used to scurrilous attacks from both incumbents and anti-government "think tanks," which are often directly funded by private service providers.