Community Broadband Media Roundup - June 6

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

Broadband master plan in the works for Haywood by Jessi Stone, Smoky Mountain News

... local governments are limited in what they can do to solve the problem. While governments aren’t allowed to install cable or fiber to offer service that would compete with private providers, they can assist in other ways. 

Ting to offer gigabit fiber in North Carolina by year's end by Karl Bode, DSL Reports

 

Oregon

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Fiber facts should overcome fears by Kevin Padrick, Lake Oswego Review

 

Tennessee

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

It’s been such a success that dozens of other towns and cities have begun their own municipal broadband networks, providing Internet faster and cheaper than private companies.

“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.”

 

General

Sorry, it's time to start counting gigabytes at home, too by Klint Finley, Wired

The more customers shift their attention from pay television to streaming video services, the more data they’ll use. Unless data limits increase along with usage–or Comcast decides not to expand its test–AT&T and Comcast’s new pricing schemes could add up fast, especially in households with multiple people watching different streams at once.

The bright future of dark fiber by Susan Crawford, BackChannel