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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
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.
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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
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Colorado
Little-known Internet network plans Western Colorado expansion to link students, nonprofits to supercomputers by Tamara Chuang, Colorado Sun
Louisiana
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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