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The Question of Internet Affordability Beyond ACP - Episode 594 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast

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New Webinar Series: Tribal Business of Broadband Set to Launch

A new webinar series, The Business of Broadband, is set to kick off later this month. The webinars will hone in on how Indigenous networks approach the business of broadband, how they can be structured, how they price their services, and how they can strategically plan for their sustainability.

Syracuse Launches Surge Link Community Broadband Network

Syracuse officials have launched a new wireless community broadband network they hope will help bring affordable broadband access to the city of 145,000. Dubbed Surge Link, the effort is backed by more than $3.5 million in federal funding and aims to deliver free broadband access to the city’s lowest income neighborhoods. Using CBRS technology, Brooke Schneider, the city’s Senior Information Officer, told ILSR that Syracuse zeroed in on CBRS, in part, because “Fixed Wireless Access technology provides a quick time to market.”

Cleveland's Two-Pronged Attack To Make ‘Worse-Connected City’ Label A Relic Of The Past

Cleveland, Ohio is putting the finishing touches on an ambitious plan to build a citywide open access fiber network–and deliver affordable fixed wireless service–at minimal cost to city residents. The double-edged proposal aims to bring both meaningful broadband competition–and lower rates–to the long neglected city of 1.7 million people. DigitalC will spend 18 months building a fixed wireless broadband network, while SiFi builds citywide fiber network.

Upcoming Tribal Broadband Webinar on Network Sovereignty and Current Opportunities

“Nuts, Bolts, and Cables: Opportunities in Tribal Broadband” is being hosted by the the Center for Indian Country Development in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University. Slated for next week, the webinar will bring together researchers, advocates, network operators, and federal policymakers

Lamoille FiberNet CUD Gets Green Light For Major Vermont Broadband Expansion Plan

Vermont’s nascent Communication Union Districts (CUD) are pioneering creative efforts to deploy affordable broadband to the rural parts of the Green Mountain State. That includes the Lamoille FiberNet CUD, which has greenlit a major new plan to expand affordable access to fiber in the most neglected parts of rural Vermont. Lamoille plans to have Fidium Fiber and Consolidated Communications deploy and manage 630 miles of new fiber connecting more than 4,800 unserved and underserved Lamoille County homes and businesses.

Building for Digital Equity Event Encore

Today’s Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) webinar – "Building Connected Communities: Sustaining the Momentum" – was packed with practical information and inspiration on how local communities are pushing the digital equity movement forward.

Lancaster PA Revives Public Private Partnership Plans With Shentel’s Glo Fiber

Lancaster, Pennsylvania has revitalized the city’s long percolating plan for a municipal broadband network, this time via a public-private partnership (PPP) with Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel). The city’s quest for more affordable, reliable broadband is a quest that’s taken the better part of a decade to finally come to fruition.

Next B4DE Event This Tuesday: Building Connected Communities, Sustaining Momentum

Lots happening for Digital Inclusion Week 2023, which kicks off this Monday. One free online event that will be of particular interest for digital equity advocates across the nation is the next installment of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and ILSR’s Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) webinar. The popular virtual gathering will be held this Tuesday, Oct. 3, from 12 noon to 1:15 pm ET and will focus on the DIW-inspired theme: “Building Connected Communities: Sustaining Momentum.”

Murfreesboro, TN Soon To Be Awash In Affordable Fiber Thanks To Local Cooperative, Google Fiber

Murfreesboro, Tennessee suddenly finds itself awash with looming broadband competitors thanks to the city’s booming growth. In less than a month, United Communications – owned by not-for-profit electric cooperative Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) – and Google Fiber have unveiled major plans to expand affordable gigabit fiber within city limits. MTE-owned United Communications says it has some big plans for the city of 157,000, starting with broadband upgrades for the utilities’ 77,000 existing electricity customers.