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Johnson City Considers Broadband Network to Aid Economic Development
According to the local paper, Johnson City, Tennessee, continues to discuss whether its public power utility should build a FTTH network.
As with so many other communities that have only "high speed" cable and DSL options, people are recognizing the importance of broadband on economic development.
Time Warner Anti-Competition Bill in North Carolina Gets Introduced: S1209
The latest attack on publicly owned broadband networks in North Carolina now has an official name - S1209: No Nonvoted Local Debt For Competing System and will apparently be debated in committee next week.
Local TV Covers Salisbury FTTH Network
This video is no longer available.
Palm Coast FiberNET Opens for Business
The nation's newest open access network opened for business this week - Palm Coast FiberNET in Florida. This network is intended to serve businesses and is not currently a FTTH build.
If Only George Carlin Were Here
Connected Nation and the utter lack of accurate maps depicting broadband options and metrics in this country reminded me of possibly my favorite comedian. George Carlin had a great routine about airlines and the safety speech given by flight attendants.
Chelan PUD, Citizens, Ponder Fiber Expansion in Rural Washington
The Chelan Public Utility District in Washington began its county-wide fiber-optic network build. They have since passed some 80% of the county but are temporarily pausing expansion efforts. Chelan is a rural county and the network is not expected to break even for quite some time.
In Washington, state law limits the powers of public utility districts to offer broadband.
UTOPIA Pursues Additional Funding
UTOPIA, the open access FTTH network in several cities of Utah, has been seeking some $20 million to continue adding new subscribers to the network. The cities involved seem to be on board, committing to the funding following recent successes.
Fiber Down Under: Australia Plans Publicly Owned Open Access Network
Australia is planning to build a nationwide open access network that will be owned by the public. Ars Technica recently covered their progress - Australia has released a consultant report on the proposed network.
North Carolina Video of Committee Hearing to Preempt Communities
"My issue is that cities should not be competing with private enterprise." - Senator Hoyle of North Carolina
Given this Senator's opposition to the public sector competing with the private sector, I assume he is fighting just as hard to shut down the libraries (or have Borders and Barnes and Noble neglected to donate enough to his candidacy?), as well as the schools (there are pr
OneCommunity: A Bit of Background
KMOX, a station from St. Louis, recently asked what Ohio's OneCommunity did correctly in building a regional broadband network. The article is interesting for some background on OneCommunity, but the discussion of what St.
Highland, Illinois, Begins Building Fiber Network
Back in early March, Highland Illinois, broke ground on its publicly owned FTTH network project. Plans call for connecting some businesses by the end of this year and connecting everyone by the end of 2011.
KMOV in St.
Lafayette and a Level Playing Field
This is a great inside look at how one community built a globally competitive broadband network (probably the best citywide network in the US) and the barriers they faced from incumbent providers Cox and BellSouth.
Terry Huval, the Director of Lafayette Utilities System in Louisiana, spoke to the U.S.
Connected Nation and Lies About DSL Speeds
On Wednesday, I testified at an informational hearing before the House Telecom Subcommittee of the Minnesota Legislature. Connected Nation was giving an update on their contract to map broadband availability in Minnesota and I wanted to record some dissent regarding their claims and the usefulness of maps in general. For those who have not used the Connected Nation tool, it is horrible.
Time Warner Reverses Direction in NC, Fights Competition with New Strategy
Time Warner, AT&T, and other incumbents have radically changed their strategy to prevent broadband competition in North Carolina via new restrictions that are being debated in the Legislature currently. This switch in strategy offers more proof that they stand on no principle aside from protecting their monopoly.
The famous HB 1252 in North Carolina is back... but different.
Lafayette: 100Mbps and Now What?
One of the focuses of the recent FiberFete conference is what do communities do once they have built a next-generation network. Lafayette had lots of ideas.
Let's start with counting new jobs.
Changing the Rules: Beware Free Money
One of the dangers of federal programs like the broadband stimulus programs BTOP and BIP is that the feds make the rules...
Lessig Presentation on America's Broadband Policy
Paul Venezia is one of the few who noted a recent Lessig presentation that discusses broadband policy. Larry Lessig's presentation offers an excellent short history of broadband and telecom history - from the beginning of AT&T to the National Broadband Plan.
Tonka Connect
Lake Minnetonka Communication Commission -- a group representing a number of suburban communities located west of Minneapolis -- is seeking to build a community-owned FTTH network.
Rules Matter - Network Neutrality and Transparency
I was briefly checking out the Open Internet Workshop when I got into a short tweet-argument with someone I did not know. Bear with me as I recount the discussion then explain why I think it worth delving into for a post.
FCC Commissioner Tells NC Audience, States Should Not Preempt Community Broadband
Thanks to Catharine Rice, who tipped me off to FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn's presentation at the SEATOA Conference yesterday. SEATOA is a regional group of states from the southeast of the US that are part of NATOA.