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Lewis County Pushes Forward with Open Access Fiber Plan
Lewis County, Washington and the Lewis County Public Utility District (PUD) are making progress with their plan to deploy an open access fiber network that should dramatically boost broadband competition—and lower prices—county wide by 2026.
Summit County, Ohio Building $75 Million, 125-Mile Fiber Ring
Summit County, Ohio says it’s making progress on a $75 million, 125-mile fiber-optic ring made possible courtesy of American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
Our New Building for Digital Equity Podcast Debuts Today
Our new podcast series – Building for Digital Equity – debuts today with an insightful conversation with Margaret “Meg” Kaufer, President of the STEM Alliance in Westchester County, New York.
NYC Co-op Told To Pull Free Service From Affordable Housing After City’s Reversal On Open Access Fiber
New York City has scrapped its plan to build a promising open access fiber network. Not only did that stark reversal leave many partner ISPs high and dry after years of planning, some local community-run ISPs now say the city is forcing them to remove existing free service to affordable housing developments.
IN OUR VIEW: City Cast Provides Good Lessons for Covering Broadband
City Cast Las Vegas recently aired back-to-back podcast episodes about Internet access in the region, "Why Does Our Internet Suck?" followed by "Who Can Fix Our Internet?" As an organization that both produces stories like that as well as stars on them, as our own Sean Gonsalves did in the first
NDIA Hosts Largest Ever Net Inclusion Gathering
Digital equity advocates rode into San Antonio, Texas for Net Inclusion 2023 to kick-off the largest gathering of the annual conference to date.
Our Affordable Connectivity Program Dashboard is Back and Better Than Ever
Last August, we launched the first version of our Affordable Connectivity Program dashboard. Now, two versions later, we're back with a 2.0 version of the dashboard. It still tracks everything it did before, but adds a mobile version, a Congressional District Map, and a more nuanced, complete predictive model to calculate how long the fund will last.
Watch Net Inclusion 2023 Live with Us
Net Inclusion 2023 begins tomorrow in sunny San Antonio, Texas. Join us to watch panels and breakout sessions planned for the all the diverse challenges and opportunities that make up the arena of digital equity and inclusion today, from skills training, to device access, to cost, to use in higher education, medicine, and aging in place.
A Very Special Connect This! Show | Episode 65 of the Connect This! Show
Join us on Wednesday, March 1st at 7:30pm ET for a very special episode of the show, live from Net Inclusion 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. Christopher Mitchell (ILSR) will be joined by Kim McKinley (UTOPIA Fiber), Angela Siefer (National Digital Inclusion Alliance), Autumn Evans (City of Detroit), and ILSR's DeAnne Cuellar, and in front of a live audience at The Friendly Spot Icehouse.
Making Waves in Baltimore with Community-Driven Connectivity
Profile on the people behind Project Waves, a non-profit organization founded in 2018 to bring broadband to mostly low-income households in Baltimore City.
$63 Million in USDA ReConnect Funds Head to Rural Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Mississippi
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced it has awarded $63 million through its ReConnect Program to expand access to high-speed Internet service in rural parts of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Mississippi.
Open Access Conduit in West Des Moines, Iowa Brings Google Fiber, Choice to City Residents
West Des Moines, Iowa is making steady progress on a $60 million open access fiber-optic conduit system to expedite the delivery of affordable fiber citywide. And they’re doing it with the help of Google Fiber, which has slowly started to reverse course after the company’s 2016 decision to lay off hundreds of staff and freeze most meaningful expansion.
Ziply, iFIBER Merger Could Boost Washington State Broadband Access
Ziply Fiber has been increasingly active across Washington State, helping municipalities expand access to affordable, open access fiber networks.
Waterloo, Iowa Voters GO Forward with Municipal Fiber Network
After years of consideration and planning, Waterloo, Iowa is finally moving quickly forward with its plan to build a citywide municipal fiber network.
Digital Inclusion Practitioners Head to San Antonio for Net Inclusion 2023
Joining nearly a thousand digital inclusion practitioners, policymakers, advocates, and researchers from across the nation, ILSR’s entire Community Broadband Networks (CBN) team will be in San Antonio, Texas at the end of this month for Net Inclusion 2023.
Building for Digital Equity Livestream Just Days Away: Register Now
It’s not too late to register for our first Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) livestream event of the year. This Thursday, Feb. 16, from 2-3 pm CST/3-4 pm ET, ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative will kick off our Building for Digital Equity series.
Welcome to the New CommunityNets.org
Fourteen years ago, the original MuniNetworks.org went live. With support from the Ford Foundation, it came into being to tell the stories of all of the communities around the country that were taking back their telecommunications future from the monopoly providers. I hoped it would be two things: a clearinghouse of news and local-government success stories, and a lasting, living archive of the movement to return the ideology of self-reliance to Internet infrastructure. We launch this new site and begin the new year full of hope. We want to thank long-time readers and new arrivals alike, as we start a new phase of life. Read on to see what stays the same and what's new.
Digital Equity LA Summit Pushes CPUC to Ditch Priority Areas Map
As Los Angeles County officials work with community coalitions to improve high-speed Internet access in underserved communities across the region, the Digital Equity LA Summit last week focused on the challenges ahead.
Save the Date: ILSR’s Building for Digital Equity Returns
Save the date! ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks team is back for a second season of our Building for Digital Equity series.
You can register now here.
The free online live stream will be held on Feb. 16 from 2-3 pm CST/3-4 pm ET.
AARP Accepting Applications for Seventh Annual Community Challenge Grant Program
AARP has announced it is accepting applications for its seventh annual Community Challenge grant program, a funding source for nonprofit organizations and governmental entities to apply for “quick-action” projects that make communities more livable and have the potential to seed long-term change.