Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Emma Gautier
Stories by this author
Rural Southeast Alaskan Tribes Leverage Spectrum for a Pilot Connecting Hard-to-Reach Communities
The Tlingit and Haida Tribes will leverage $15 million in Rescue Plan funding to bring LTE-based 100 Mbps symmetrical wireless connectivity to 10,000 unserved residents in and around the city of Wrangell, located on Wrangell Island
Following Through on Transparency: A Broadband Nutrition Label Status Report
Nearly one year ago on November 15, 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which contained significant legislation around broadband.
Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 424
This is the transcript for episode 424 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. In this episode, Christopher Mitchell speaks with Jeff Christensen of EntryPoint Networks about open access networks.
RDOF Funding Propels a Local Electric Cooperative to Extend Connectivity in Rural Missouri
Electric cooperatives illustrate the power that community-owned enterprises have to bring Internet access at scale to unconnected rural communities.
New Vermont Communications Union District Convenes to Connect the Rutland Region
With nearly 65,000 households unable to connect to the Internet at basic broadband speeds of 25/3 Megabits per second (Mbps), municipalities across the Green Mountain State have risen to the fore in formulating creative models for addressing the tens of thousands of homes without broadband access.
Summit County, Ohio Defends Community Broadband from State Opposition and Forges Ahead with Plans to Bolster Economic Development
Summit County has put together a multi-part, $75 million broadband plan to improve connectivity in the area: a middle-mile institutional fiber ring to connect the county’s public safety facilities and expand its broadband capacity, a new datacenter, and a fiber investment to specifically target residents and businesses in the county’s underserved areas and economic activity hubs.
Rescue Plan Dollars Resuscitate an Open Access Fiber Network Buildout in Erie County, New York
Plans for an open access fiber backbone in Erie County, New York (pop. 951,000) are being readjusted after having been stymied by the pandemic. The county will use Rescue Plan funding to cover the cost of building the backbone, which will be owned by the county and operated by ErieNet, a nonprofit local development corporation.
A Local Coalition Gets Organized to Bring Quality Connectivity to Maine’s Midcoast
Five small towns in rural Maine are connecting with one another in a steady grassroots effort to expand broadband access in the Midcoast. After conducting a survey which affirmed the towns’ acute need for better connectivity, a local coalition is navigating state funding and weighing network options.
[Updated Report] Shopping for Broadband: Failed Federal Policy Creates Murky Marketplace
In November, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance published a report examining the transparency practices of Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Dubuque County, Iowa Revisits a Public Infrastructure Buildout
Located in southeastern Iowa, Dubuque (pop. 60,000) has considered the advantages of building a municipal network a number of times over the past fifteen years. Back in 2005, the city – as well as several other Iowa communities – voted to “grant the right to create municipal systems” (Telegraph Herald, 2009).