Maryland

Town receives grant and funding for fiber optic cable by Joseph Norris, The Bay Net

Minnesota

Kandiyohi County signs letter of intent with broadband partner by Anne Polta, West Central Tribune

General

Untangling Google Fiber's twist on America's unending digital divide by Lauren Walker, Daily Dot

Whether [the provider] is public or private, if it is owned by the community, there is typically pressure on them to deliver a good product,” Mitchell says. “But when it is owned by someone who has no connection to the community, or can’t even find the community on a map, then the quality of the product tends to decline.”

Dear Landlord: Don't rip me off when it comes to Internet access by Susan Crawford, BackChannel

Analysis: Internet access - An incomplete promise by Frederick L. Pilot, Daily Yonder

Americans are victims of arbitrary redlining by incumbent telephone and cable companies. It’s difficult to make a credible argument that living a third of a mile from existing infrastructure puts a customer in the middle of nowhere, making it too expensive to extend service.

Elizabeth Warren slams Comcast, wants more antitrust enforcement by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

[Video] Small towns join forces to bridge the digital divide by Zachary Green and Ivette Feliciano, PBS Newshour

California

Bill to shift how Calif. manages broadaband fund moves ahead by Alex Koma, StateScoop

Connecticut

Utility pole rules could help high-speed Internet access by Stephen Singer, Hartford Courant

Maine

Islesboro moves forward with $3.8M broadband network by Abigail Curtis, Bangor Daily News

Utah

Helping Utahns begin to move beyond coal by Chase Thomas, Deseret News

Virginia

Halifax County broadband talks advance by Kathy Millar, Gazette-Virginian

General

White House warns GOP to stop sneak attacks on net neutrality by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

Exclusive apartment deals killing real broadband competition by Karl Bode, DSL Reports & TechDirt

Arkansas

Telecom, utility partnership pursues Arkansas gigabit by Joan Engebretson, Telecompetitor

The rural telco is South Arkansas Telephone (SATCO) and the power company is Ouachita Electric Cooperative (OECC). The telecom, utility partnership has formed a new company called Arkansas Rural Internet Service (ARIS) – and according to ARIS Director Mark Lundy, each owner has a 50% share of ARIS.

 

Colorado

Broadband initiative moving forward by David Persons, Estes Park Trail Gazette

Idaho

Open Access Idaho broadband network lets customers switch to a new ISP in seconds by Karl Bode, TechDirt

Minnesota

Lincoln County Board talks broadband by Jody Isaackson, Marshall Independent

North Carolina

North Carolina's new broadband plan forgets to include 'Don't let ISP lobbyists write Shittty state telecom laws' by Karl Bode, TechDirt

The FCC's action specifically targeted bans in both Tennessee and North Carolina, both states where incumbent telecom lobbyists quite literally control state legislatures. Both states' dysfunction on this front is legendary, yet both chose to sue the FCC in court to, they claim, defend "states rights" from federal government "overreach.”

Tennessee

Florida

Polk Vision hosts Smart Communities Summit by John Ceballos, The Ledger

The key to giving everyone in Polk County access to affordable high-speed Internet has less to do with bandwidth and more to do with community leaders banding together to achieve that goal.

Idaho

Municipal fiber network will let customers switch ISPs in seconds by Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica

Ammon has completed a pilot project involving 12 homes and is getting ready for construction to another 200 homes. Eventually, the city wants to wire up all of its 4,500 homes and apartment buildings, city Technology Director Bruce Patterson told Ars. Ammon has already deployed fiber to businesses in the city, and it did so without raising everybody's taxes.

Louisiana

Reps from Cox, AT&T meet with city-parish officials to exporess concerns about broadband plan by Ryan Broussard, Baton Rouge Business Report

Massachusetts

Selectmen appoint group to study broadband by Marty Green, The Harvard Press

New Mass. broadband chair stresses 'flexible' solutions for each town by Shira Schoenberg, MassLive

Minnesota

More support needed for Austin Gig effort by Greg Siems, Austin Daily Herald

North Carolina

Against municipal broadband? That's just wrong by David Post, Salisbury Post

Colorado

A lesson in broadband projects by Dennis Webb, Grand Junction Sentinel

Idaho

Idaho Falls mulls expanding fiber-optic Internet connections by Sarah Glenn, Idaho State Journal

Tennessee

Chattanooga was a typical post-industrial city. Then it began offering municipal broadband by Peter Moskowitz, The Nation

“Really, these last two years you’ve seen it pick up steam,” said Christopher Mitchell, the director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). “It’s just going to keep on spreading.”

Six years ago, Chattanooga was the only city offering publicly owned 1-gigabit Internet service. Today, over 50 communities do, according to ILSR, and there are over 450 communities in the United States offering some form of publicly owned Internet service. Many municipal networks are in small towns and rural areas where private high-speed access is hard to come by. But several dozen are in cities like Chattanooga, where there are other, private options that tend to be much more expensive and slower than what governments have proven they can provide.

Innovation district offers opportunity to close 'digital divide' by Gabrielle Chavalier, Chattanooga Times Free Press

Vermont

Souvernet's fiber network adds partners to help connect Vermont's 'Last Mile' by Vermont Biz

General

Why municipal broadband by Charles Cooper, The Urbanist

California

City council candidate question 8: The big problem facing Davis by David Greenwald, Davis Vanguard

One of the most pressing issues facing our community in the coming years is the need for faster and more reliable broadband. It is a vital element of Yolo and Davis’ economic sustainability that will keep our community competitive locally, and globally. Broadband is a driving force behind the competitiveness and productivity of our businesses and fostering innovation.

The primary broadband providers in our community, AT&T and Comcast, have spent little money upgrading their infrastructure over time. Davis’ situation isn’t unique. Communities throughout the country are facing the same future. Many of them, including those in the Sacramento region, are asking the Federal and State governments for assistance in solving this challenge.

California bill allowing VOIP transition stalls, but opponents fear revivial by Alex Koma, StateScoop

A California bill allowing telecom providers to transition customers from wireline telephone service to Voice over Internet Protocol systems is now stalled in committee, but opponents fear the advocacy efforts of massive companies like AT&T could revive the legislation.

Colorado

Broadband boost streams ahead by Katharhynn Heidelberg, Montrose Daily Press

Iowa

Mediacom suffers setback in Iowa City muni-broadband battle by Daniel Frankel, FiereceCable

Massachusetts

Hardwick and Montague to Baker's telecom chief: We don't want Comcast by Mary Serraze, MassLive

North Carolina

Idaho

Idaho Falls exploring options to provide fiber optic connections to homes by KIDK-3 TV

The city’s current fiber infrastructure has not only improved operational efficiencies for the city and its utilities, but it has also facilitated economic development, competitive internet service rates and helped maintain city rights-of-way.

Ammon moves to create fiber optic district by KIDK-3 TV

Maryland

How fiber broadband factors into this Maryland town's future by Stephen Babcock, Technical.ly Baltimore

Minnesota

Session implodes at midnight over roads, public works by J. Patrick Coolican, Minneapolis Star Tribune

The spending agreement included new spending on key Dayton priorities: $35 million on rural broadband Internet development, $35 million on closing economic disparities for people of color with another $17.5 million every year going forward, and $25 million on prekindergarten access, with $55 million every year thereafter to help disadvantaged children get ready for school. Dayton had sought much larger amounts for all of these initiatives.

Missouri

Politicians fail in bid to squash municipal broadband in Missouri by Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica

Missouri's attempted municipal broadband ban fails by Fierce Telecom

Virginia

Alabama

Construction begins on plans to bring Google Fiber to Hunstville by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

Florida

Lakeland, Fla., weighs feasibility of fiber optic broadband by Christopher Guinn, GovTech

National business groups have fought the expansion of municipal broadband at the state and federal level. A representative from the industry-backed political advocacy group Florida TaxWatch attended the last fiber optics discussion, and Bright House Networks hired a court reporter to record the meeting.

Five of the seven commissioners said they would consider creating a publicly owned and operated Internet utility, depending on the results of an upcoming financial analysis and risk assessment.

Massachusetts

Gov. Baker touts 'flexible, community-based' solution for rural broadband in Western Massachusetts by Patrick Johnson, MassLive

Missouri

High-speed hurdle? Proposed Missouri law would restrict municipal broadband networks by Jon Swedien, Springfield News Leader

Missouri lawmaker sneaks broadband provision into traffic bill by Brad Jones, Yahoo Finance

Deadline looms for Missouri bill to set municipal broadband strictures by Alex Koma, StateScoop

But municipal broadband advocates blast that line of thinking, given the state of broadband availability in the state. A 2015 Federal Communications Commission study found that 29 percent of Missouri residents don’t have access to broadband service, a rate well above the national average of 17 percent.

California

California Department of Technology to extend fiber to City of Sacramento by News Staff, GovTech

The Department of Technology in April agreed to extend the department's fiber ring to the city of Sacramento in an arrangement that the department says will save the city and the state money over the long term.

"This agreement will replace leased, vendor provided, critical network FRS circuits with city fiber, saving CDT approximately $20,000 per month. Although CDT [California Department of Technology] was required to initially spend approximately $117,000 to build out seven sites, the cost will be recouped in less than 6 months once the CDT vendor fiber contracts are terminated. In return, CDT will become the Internet Service Provider for the City of Sacramento, allowing the city to eliminate costly vendor-provided ISP services," the Department of Technology announced on its blog April 28.

Colorado

Mayor: 'Gigabit here we come' by Jenni Grubbs, Fort Morgan Times

Missouri

Muni broadband limits tucked into totally unrrelated traffic bill in Mo. by Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica

Missouri is one of about 20 states that already have restrictions on municipal telecom services, but Fraker's proposal would make it more difficult for cities and towns to offer broadband. The amendment was described yesterday by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's Community Broadband Networks project, which urged Missouri residents to contact the bill sponsors "and explain how you feel about amendments that do not relate to the substance of their bill."

AT&T hides anti-muni broadband language in Missouri traffic bill by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

New Mexico

Alabama

At schools with sub-par Internet, kids face a poor connection with modern life by Chico Harlan, Washington Post

Massachusetts

Massachusetts government stymies WiredWest municipal broadband initiative, report says by Samantha Bookman, FierceTelecom

Homegrown Internet provider a good idea by The Recorder's Editorial

Virginia

Broadband vs. ice cream by Roanoke Times' Editorials

Switch flipped on municipal-motivated broadband network; PBS is first customer by Yann Ranaivo, Roanoke Times

Proponents of the network have in the past few years pointed to various reports on the Roanoke area’s low rankings in terms of connectivity. They have also stressed that many employers today, whether they are already in the region or looking to expand here, need modern broadband infrastructure for their operations.

“What we’re creating today is additional infrastructure for our community so it can move forward,” said Salem City Manager and Broadband Authority board Chairman Kevin Boggess. “The network is just the first step in advancing and coordinating economic prospects for our region.”

General

Report: FCC gets lots of complaints about broadband data caps by David Murphy, PC Magazine