The SouthEast Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors has its annual conference in Chattanooga this year - March 12 and 13th. The conference includes a tour of EPB's Gigabit network (the largest muni network in the nation) and its PEG operations.
This conference will undoubtedly be buzzing about the legislation in South Carolina and Georgia that aims to shut down community networks just like North Carolina did last year.
Deena Shetler, the associate Chief of the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau will be giving the keynote. Give it a look if you are in the neighborhood.
Mark your calendars for the April 30 Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Rally and upcoming Building for Digital Equity Event focused on Pathways to Affordable Connectivity.
The second Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) event of the year will focus on what digital equity advocates across the nation are doing to address broadband affordability challenges and delve into the need for creating sustainable solutions for communities.
Westfield City Council votes to approve $11.1 million bond for a new athletic track and field at the local high school, thanks to the success of Westfield Gas & Electric’s broadband subsidiary Whip City Fiber. And though the return on investment may not be as eye-popping as the $2.7 billion Chattanooga's municipal network, EPB Fiber, has reaped in Tennessee, Westfield officials hailed the community investment as a “huge moment” for local residents.
In a recently published piece in The American Prospect, Sean Gonsalves, ILSR's Community Broadband Networks Initiative Associate Director for Communications, reports on four cities across the U.S. that are well prepared to deal with the demise of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).