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Community Broadband Media Roundup - August 1
Minnesota
City studies $50 million broadband plan by Andrew Setterholm, Rochester Post Bulletin & GovTech
Tennessee
Broadband service is vital for Tennessee businesses, new study shows by Dave Flessner, Times Free Press
Vermont
ECFiber Awards Design and Engineering Contract by BBC Wires
General
A Broad(band) reach: Bringing the Internet to rural America by John Breeden II, StateTech Magazine
For the most part, large cities don’t have a major problem with broadband installation. The populations are so dense that many private broadband providers will take on the expense of building and maintaining networks, confident that customers will follow. But smaller, more rural areas, or those in traditionally economically disadvantaged areas, may not attract a major internet provider right off the bat.
The answer might be for a city’s IT leaders to roll up their sleeves and do it themselves.
How cities can strike smarter deals with private broadband network providers by Alex Koma, StateScoop
In the report, “Successful Strategies for Broadband Public-Private Partnerships,” institute analysts Christopher Mitchell and Patrick Lucey charge that there’s been a good deal of “irrational exuberance” about the potential of public-private partnerships, commonly known as “PPPs.” While they see a partnership with the private sector as an avenue that localities certainly should consider as they weigh the possibility of building a broadband network, they also caution that “PPPs are never without risk.” The also highlight some essential lessons from the experiences of other communities.
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Community Broadband Media Roundup - June 8
Iowa
Iowa receives $26.2 million in emergency education relief to expand broadband access, Discover Muscatine
Minnesota
Community Broadband Media Roundup - May 25
Colorado
Little-known Internet network plans Western Colorado expansion to link students, nonprofits to supercomputers by Tamara Chuang, Colorado Sun
Louisiana
Community Broadband Media Roundup - May 18
California
Partnerships can close the digital divide by Apoorva Pasricha & Kevin Frazier, GovTech
Colorado
Community Broadband Media Roundup - May 4
Arizona
Mohave Electric Cooperative moves forward to build fiber optic network in partnership with TWN Communications, Cision PR Newswire
Arkansas