From rob at omsoft.com Sat Aug 1 16:11:44 2015 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Sat, 01 Aug 2015 16:11:44 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Meeting Wed Aug 6th 6:30PM @ Sudwerk Message-ID: <55BD5230.6000904@omsoft.com> Hi Everyone Just a reminder, please come, have a beer, and discuss community fiber. Please email me if you are planning to attend so I can get a head count. At this meeting we will be covering, 1) Fiscal Issues - Appropriate disbursements of funds, we have collected ~$725 on behalf of DavisGIG 2) Next PR Event, Lawn signs, Website Tweaks 3) There is interest, now what? FSR , Finance, and Tech teams? Thanks -- Rob Nickerson CEO Om Networks UCD Class of 96 C: 530-848-3865 If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or yelp.com . Please like us on Facebook . and put us in your circle at Google+ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at omsoft.com Sat Aug 1 16:28:09 2015 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Sat, 01 Aug 2015 16:28:09 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Meeting Wed Aug 5th 6:30PM @ Sudwerk Message-ID: <55BD5609.8040903@omsoft.com> CORRECTED DATE Hi Everyone Just a reminder, please come, have a beer, and discuss community fiber. Please email me if you are planning to attend so I can get a head count. At this meeting we will be covering, 1) Fiscal Issues - Appropriate disbursements of funds, we have collected ~$725 on behalf of DavisGIG 2) Next PR Event, Lawn signs, Website Tweaks 3) There is interest, now what? FSR , Finance, and Tech teams? Thanks -- Rob Nickerson CEO Om Networks UCD Class of 96 C: 530-848-3865 If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or yelp.com . Please like us on Facebook . and put us in your circle at Google+ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start Davisgig mailing list Davisgig at list.omsoft.com http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig From christopher at newrules.org Tue Aug 4 09:47:44 2015 From: christopher at newrules.org (Christopher Mitchell) Date: Tue, 4 Aug 2015 11:47:44 -0500 Subject: [Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks... Week of 8/4 Message-ID: *Recent Stories from MuniNetworks.org - a project of the * *Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Instructions for unsubscribing appear at bottom. Send feedback. Forward Widely.* *Missed last week's update while on vacation. In other news, Crater Lake in southern Oregon is stunning. And a bit chilly to swim in. Two weeks worth of stories below! Don't Miss our InfoGraphic on Comcast's Big Gig Rip-Off * Eugene Opens Up Dark Fiber for Commercial Connectivity Thu, July 30, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez Businesses are now finding affordable connectivity in Eugene, Oregon, through a partnership between the city, the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG), and the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB), reports the Register-Guard . A new pilot project has spurred gigabit Internet access in a small downtown area for as little as $100 per month. According to the article, the city contributed $100,000, LCOG added $15,000, and EWEB spent $25,000 to fund last mile connections to two commercial locations. LCOG's contribution came from an $8.3 million BTOP grant. The fiber shares conduit space with EWEB's electrical lines; the dark fiber is leased to private ISPs who provide retail services. XS Media and Hunter Communications are serving customers; other firms have expressed an interest in using the infrastructure. ... Read the Full Story Here ... WiredWest Grows: Roster of Towns Up to 22 Mon, July 20, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez Momentum is growing in WiredWest territory and each town that votes takes on a fresh enthusiasm. New Salem is one of the latest communities to overwhelmingly support joining the municipal broadband cooperative. The Recorder reported that all but one of the 189 registered New Salem voters chose to authorize borrowing $1.5 million to move forward with the initiative. There are now 22 towns that have joined . According to Moderator Calvin Layton, a typical town meeting draws 60 to 70 voters, far less than this one did. Apparently, investing in better connectivity is a hot button issue in places like New Salem, where Internet access is slow, scant, and expensive. ... Read the Full Story Here ... Longmont Gig Finds Many Takers - Community Broadband Bits Episode 161 Tue, July 28, 2015 | Posted by christopher The community reaction to Longmont's NextLight gigabit municipal fiber network in Colorado has been dramatic. They are seeing major take rate s in the initial neighborhoods, driven in part by the opportunity for a $50/month gigabit connection if you take service within three months of it becoming available in the neighborhood. This week, Longmont Power & Communications General Manager Tom Roiniotis joins us to tell us more about their approach and how the community has responded, including a block party celebrating freedom from a well-known monopoly. We discuss how they have connect the schools, the history of the network, and how incumbent providers are reacting. Along the way, I make a case for why what Longmont is doing is substantially different from the upgrades that CenturyLink and Comcast are making in some areas. See our other stories about Longmont here . ... Listen to the Show Here ... Illinois Munis Partner with Local ISP for Gigabit Network - Community Broadband Bits Episode 160 Tue, July 21, 2015 | Posted by christopher The southern Illinois cities of Urbana and Champaign joined the University of Illinois in seeking and winning a broadband stimulus award to build an open access urban FTTH network. After connecting some of the most underserved neighborhoods, the Urbana-Champaign Big Broadband (UC2B) network looked for a partner to expand the network to the entire community. In this week's Community Broadband Bits podcast, we talk with UC2B Board Chair Brandon Bowersox Johnson and the private partner iTV-3's VP and Chief Operating Officer Levi Dinkla. The local firm, iTV-3 , already had a strong reputation as an Internet Service Provider as well as operating other lines of business as well. ... Listen to the Show Here ... Read the transcript here ... Cambridge Broadband Advocate at the Summit: "We Are the Perfect Testbed" Tue, July 21, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez In April, Chris spoke at the Broadband Communities Summit in Austin . If you were not able to attend, Saul Tannenbaum's Readfold.com article gives you a taste of what it was like. Tannenbaum is a member of the Cambridge Broadband Task Force, recently set up by the city's City Manager to investigate the possibility of municipal broadband connectivity. Tannenbaum describes his experience there and some of the typical discussions he encounters while investigating a muni network. What role should the local or state government play in bettering connectivity? What is preventing the U.S. from excelling at ubiquitous access for all income levels? Why a municipal network? For Tannenbaum, and other residents of Cambridge, those questions are especially significant because the town is historically a place of technological innovation. ... Read the Rest Here ... Ammon, ID Creates Award-Winning Ultra-High Speed App Thu, July 23, 2015 | Posted by hannah The City of Ammon just took first place in the National Institute of Justice?s (NIJ) Ultra-High Speed Apps: Using Current Technology to Improve Criminal Justice Operations Challenge with the ?School Emergency Screencast Application?. The challenge encourages software developers and public safety professionals to utilize public domain data and ultra-high speed systems to create applications to improve criminal justice and public safety operations. Ammon?s application does just that. Utilizing gunshot detection hardware and a school?s existing camera system, the application reports gunshot fire and provides live-video and geospatial information to dispatch and first responders. .. Get More Details and See the Video Here ... Biloxi and Mississippi Gulf Coast Towns Pursuing Fiber Initiative Fri, July 24, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez Community leaders in the city of Biloxi want to expand massive water and sewer infrastructure improvements to include broadband infrastructure. The City Attorney Gerald Blessey recently addressed members from the Leadership Gulf Coast group and during the speech he shared the idea to spread fiber throughout Biloxi. Mayor FoFo Gilich has already spoken with the Governor who, reports WXXV 25 , is interested in the idea. Streets in town are being excavated for the water and sewer project and Gilich wants to use this opportunity to install conduit and fiber. Biloxi recently settled a lawsuit for just under $5 million with British Petrolium (BP) for economic losses arising from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010. Community leaders consider fiber a strong investment to help the area recover. ... See our Full Coverage of this Story Here ... Video: Westminster and Ting Kick Off Deployment Fri, July 24, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez Westminster recently officially lit up the new fiber network with its partner Ting. They create several videos to record the event, including this montage of interviews with movers and shakers in the municipal network industry. The two partners announced their agreement earlier this year: the city will own the infrastructure and Ting will provide retail services to local residents and businesses via the network. In the video you will see Dr. Robert Wack , the City Council Member behind the initiative, along with leading telecom attorney Jim Baller , Gigi Sohn from the FCC, and Deb Socia who heads up Next Century Cities. ... Watch the Video Here ... Erie County, New York Will Hire Consultant for Feasibility Study Mon, July 27, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez Erie County's leadership recently decided it is time to get serious about publicly owned broadband infrastructure. The Erie County Legislature approved funding to engage a consultant for a feasibility study. Patrick B. Burke spearheaded the initiative, reports the county's website . Burke stated: ?Consumers, businesses, schools and government agencies need to have affordable and accessible high speed internet service in order to function in today?s world; the build out of a fiber cable network is a no-brainer. This is a win for social justice, economic development and public safety.? In addition to funding, the county has also formed a Municipal Broadband Committee and released a policy agenda which addresses service problems in the county. Next the county will issue an RFP for a consultant. ... More Details on The Announcement Here ... New Report on Bandwidth Caps From Open Technology Institute Sat, July 25, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez The Open Technology Institute (OTI) at the New America Foundation recently released its report on bandwidth caps. "*Artificial Scarcity: How Data Caps Harm Consumers and Innovation*" is the latest warning about an issue with grave implications. The PDF is now available to download . Last November, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) released a report [PDF] with serious comments on how ISPs might abuse their power through bandwidth caps. In that report, the GAO strongly suggested the FCC take action. This report by Danielle Kehl and Patrick Lucey further examines how this profit grabbing technique from the big ISPs impacts consumer decisions and usage. ... More on the Report Here ... New Handbook on Next Generation Connectivity From Gig.U Sun, July 26, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez Gig.U , a collaboration of more than 30 universities across the country has just released *The Next Generation Network Connectivity Handbook: A guide for Community Leaders Seeking Affordable, Abundant Bandwidth*. The handbook, published in association with the Benton Foundation, is available as a PDF online . One of the authors, Blair Levin, has been a guest several times on the Community Broadband Bits podcast, last visiting in January 2015 to weigh in on public vs. private ownership of broadband networks. As many of our readers know, Levin was one of the primary authors of the FCC National Broadband Plan in 2010. ... More on the Handbook here ... Holyoke Case Study from Berkman Center Explores Massachusetts Muni Fiber Wed, July 29, 2015 | Posted by phineas A few weeks ago, Harvard?s Berkman Center for Internet and Society released a report that documents the achievements of Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E) Telecom , a municipal electric utility that now provides fiber-optic broadband Internet to local businesses in several western Massachusetts towns. The utility?s move into fiber-optics has led to municipal savings for the City of Holyoke, as well as increased high-speed access in neighboring cities, and driven economic development. We interviewed Holyoke's Senior Network Engineer, Tim Haas, in a previous episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast . Because the state of Massachusetts has no barriers that prevent the creation of municipal Internet networks, HG&E has been able to compete on a level playing field with incumbent ISPs Comcast and Charter. HG&E is among 12 MLPs (Municipal Light Plants) out of 41 in the state to offer fiber Internet services. Researchers at the Berkman Center believe that MLPs could play a large role in expanding Internet access and business opportunities throughout the state as electricity revenues experience diminishing returns and data needs grow. For example, HG&E?s fiber connection was a factor in the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center?s decision to open a $90 million data center in Holyoke. ... More on this Excellent Report Here ... AT&T, Comcast, Lies Hurt Homeowners Fri, July 31, 2015 | Posted by phineas As of this January , the FCC defines broadband as 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream , but in some rural areas in the United States, people are still struggling to access DSL speeds of 768 kbps . In a few extreme cases, individuals who rely on the Internet for their jobs and livelihoods have been denied access completely. The sad state of affairs for many Americans who subscribe to the major Internet service providers like AT&T and CenturyLink was recently chronicled in an article on Ars Technica that examined AT&T?s stunning combination of poor customer service, insufficient infrastructure, and empty promises to subscribers. It tells the unfortunately common story of the little guy being systematically overlooked by a massive corporation focused solely on short-term profit maximization. ... Get the Full Scoop Here ... -- You can always find our most recent stories and other resources at http://MuniNetworks.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Community Networks Weekly Updates" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to communitynetworks-weekly+unsubscribe at ilsr.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/a/ilsr.org/d/optout. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wjwagman at dcn.org Tue Aug 4 15:01:52 2015 From: wjwagman at dcn.org (Bill Wagman) Date: Tue, 4 Aug 2015 15:01:52 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Meeting Wed Aug 6th 6:30PM @ Sudwerk In-Reply-To: <55BD5230.6000904@omsoft.com> References: <55BD5230.6000904@omsoft.com> Message-ID: <042b01d0cf01$2b679530$8236bf90$@dcn.org> Rob, Wednesday is the 5th, Thursday is the 6th. I am guessing this will be Wednesday? Bill Wagman From: Davisgig [mailto:davisgig-bounces at list.omsoft.com] On Behalf Of Robert Nickerson Sent: Saturday, August 01, 2015 4:12 PM To: davisgig at list.omsoft.com Subject: [Davisgig] Meeting Wed Aug 6th 6:30PM @ Sudwerk Hi Everyone Just a reminder, please come, have a beer, and discuss community fiber. Please email me if you are planning to attend so I can get a head count. At this meeting we will be covering, 1) Fiscal Issues - Appropriate disbursements of funds, we have collected ~$725 on behalf of DavisGIG 2) Next PR Event, Lawn signs, Website Tweaks 3) There is interest, now what? FSR , Finance, and Tech teams? Thanks -- Rob Nickerson CEO Om Networks UCD Class of 96 C: 530-848-3865 If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or yelp.com . Please like us on Facebook . and put us in your circle at Google+ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at omsoft.com Tue Aug 4 15:59:44 2015 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Tue, 04 Aug 2015 15:59:44 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Meeting Wed Aug 5th 6:30PM @ Sudwerk In-Reply-To: <042b01d0cf01$2b679530$8236bf90$@dcn.org> References: <55BD5230.6000904@omsoft.com> <042b01d0cf01$2b679530$8236bf90$@dcn.org> Message-ID: <55C143E0.4020002@omsoft.com> Hi That's correct, in case anyone missed my follow up post, the meeting is Wed Aug 5th at 6:30pm . Thanks RAN On 8/4/2015 3:01 PM, Bill Wagman wrote: > > Rob, > > Wednesday is the 5^th , Thursday is the 6^th . I am guessing this will > be Wednesday? > > Bill Wagman > > *From:*Davisgig [mailto:davisgig-bounces at list.omsoft.com] *On Behalf > Of *Robert Nickerson > *Sent:* Saturday, August 01, 2015 4:12 PM > *To:* davisgig at list.omsoft.com > *Subject:* [Davisgig] Meeting Wed Aug 6th 6:30PM @ Sudwerk > > Hi Everyone > > Just a reminder, please come, have a beer, and discuss community fiber. > Please email me if you are planning to attend so I can get a head count. > > At this meeting we will be covering, > > 1) Fiscal Issues - Appropriate disbursements of funds, we have > collected ~$725 on behalf of DavisGIG > > 2) Next PR Event, Lawn signs, Website Tweaks > > 3) There is interest, now what? FSR , Finance, and Tech teams? > > > Thanks > > -- > Rob Nickerson > > CEO > Om Networks > UCD Class of 96 > C: 530-848-3865 > > If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good > recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or > yelp.com . > Please like us on Facebook > . and put us in your > circle at Google+ > -- Rob Nickerson CEO Om Networks UCD Class of 96 C: 530-848-3865 If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or yelp.com . Please like us on Facebook . and put us in your circle at Google+ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From invitation-do-not-reply at trello.com Fri Aug 7 13:45:16 2015 From: invitation-do-not-reply at trello.com (Todd Kaiser) Date: Fri, 07 Aug 2015 20:45:16 +0000 Subject: [Davisgig] Todd Kaiser (@toddkaiser3) invited you to join the organization "DavisGiG" on Trello Message-ID: <1438980316510bc1d705c@trello.com> Let's Collaborate! Todd Kaiser invites you to join the following organization on Trello: --------------------------------------- DavisGiG. View it here: https://trello.com/organizationinvited/55721c65166d75dc99b66763/55c518dc3b46ed7f088710b7/119c824b561372127ae8b3d42b29ebe4 --------------------------------------- What's Trello? It's the easiest way to organize anything, like having virtual whiteboards with superpowers. Learn more at http://trello.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at omsoft.com Fri Aug 7 17:26:20 2015 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Fri, 07 Aug 2015 17:26:20 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Meetings, and then More Meetings Message-ID: <55C54CAC.1020101@omsoft.com> Hi Davisites who want Fiber. Got a great email from the new Innovation Officer today, reiterating the desire to meet, and advising me of their efforts. They are trying to get a "ad-hoc, advisory community group approved, as well as the request for a FSR, plus a commitment to collaboration". They are hoping for a meeting with us in the coming weeks, and should have more concrete steps for us. Sent a status update email to UCD Communications Resources Have a meeting with City IT staff to get them acquainted with the project in 2 weeks. Have a meeting with DJUSD Director of Instructional Technology for next month. Thanks a bunch -- Rob Nickerson CEO Om Networks UCD Class of 96 C: 530-848-3865 If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or yelp.com . Please like us on Facebook . and put us in your circle at Google+ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From omrob at omsoft.com Fri Aug 7 17:28:02 2015 From: omrob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Fri, 07 Aug 2015 17:28:02 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Meetings, and then More Meetings In-Reply-To: <55C54CAC.1020101@omsoft.com> References: <55C54CAC.1020101@omsoft.com> Message-ID: <55C54D12.6070600@omsoft.com> Hi ALSO - Please check out TRELLO. We are going to move project organization there Thanks RAN On 8/7/2015 5:26 PM, Robert Nickerson wrote: > Hi Davisites who want Fiber. > > Got a great email from the new Innovation Officer today, reiterating > the desire to meet, and advising me of their efforts. > They are trying to get a "ad-hoc, advisory community group approved, > as well as the request for a FSR, plus a > commitment to collaboration". > > They are hoping for a meeting with us in the coming weeks, and should > have more concrete steps for us. > > Sent a status update email to UCD Communications Resources > > Have a meeting with City IT staff to get them acquainted with the > project in 2 weeks. > Have a meeting with DJUSD Director of Instructional Technology for > next month. > > Thanks a bunch > > -- > Rob Nickerson > > CEO > Om Networks > UCD Class of 96 > C: 530-848-3865 > > If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good > recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or > yelp.com . > Please like us on Facebook > . and put us in your > circle at Google+ > > > _______________________________________________ > > Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start > > Davisgig mailing list > Davisgig at list.omsoft.com > http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig -- Rob Nickerson CEO Om Networks UCD Class of 96 C: 530-848-3865 If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or yelp.com . Please like us on Facebook . and put us in your circle at Google+ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dawalter at dcn.org Fri Aug 7 21:27:13 2015 From: dawalter at dcn.org (Douglas A. Walter) Date: Fri, 7 Aug 2015 21:27:13 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Todd Kaiser (@toddkaiser3) invited you to join the organization "DavisGiG" on Trello In-Reply-To: <1438980316510bc1d705c@trello.com> References: <1438980316510bc1d705c@trello.com> Message-ID: <5FBA31EF-BA28-45C5-90D2-DB915548FEB2@dcn.org> Hey Todd, following your link, before or after signing up for a Trello account, gave me this result: > Page not found. > > This page may be private. If someone gave you this link, they may need to invite you to one of their boards or organizations. > I would prefer a different kind of welcome; I'll await further contact. On Aug 7, 2015, at 1:45 PM, Todd Kaiser wrote: > > > Let's collaborate! > > Todd Kaiser invites you to join the organization: > > > DavisGiG > > See the organization > > > What's Trello? It's the easiest way to organize anything, like having virtual whiteboards with superpowers. Learn more ? > > > _______________________________________________ > > Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start > > Davisgig mailing list > Davisgig at list.omsoft.com > http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig -- ?Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.? -- Elizabeth Alexander Doug Walter ? dawalter at dcn.org ? (home address) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fugsco at gmail.com Fri Aug 7 22:01:43 2015 From: fugsco at gmail.com (Scott F) Date: Fri, 7 Aug 2015 22:01:43 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Todd Kaiser (@toddkaiser3) invited you to join the organization "DavisGiG" on Trello In-Reply-To: <5FBA31EF-BA28-45C5-90D2-DB915548FEB2@dcn.org> References: <1438980316510bc1d705c@trello.com> <5FBA31EF-BA28-45C5-90D2-DB915548FEB2@dcn.org> Message-ID: <509CA308-A0A1-458E-9A93-09561CD80CDF@gmail.com> Me too. Scott Fuglei is registered on Trello as fugsco at hotmail.com > On Aug 7, 2015, at 9:27 PM, Douglas A. Walter wrote: > > Hey Todd, following your link, before or after signing up for a Trello account, gave me this result: >> Page not found. >> >> This page may be private. If someone gave you this link, they may need to invite you to one of their boards or organizations. >> > I would prefer a different kind of welcome; I'll await further contact. > >> On Aug 7, 2015, at 1:45 PM, Todd Kaiser wrote: >> >> >> >> Let's collaborate! >> >> Todd Kaiser invites you to join the organization: >> >> >> DavisGiG >> >> See the organization >> >> >> What's Trello? It's the easiest way to organize anything, like having virtual whiteboards with superpowers. Learn more ? >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: >> >> http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start >> >> Davisgig mailing list >> Davisgig at list.omsoft.com >> http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig > > -- > ?Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.? -- Elizabeth Alexander > > Doug Walter ? dawalter at dcn.org ? (home address) > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start > > Davisgig mailing list > Davisgig at list.omsoft.com > http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From christopher at newrules.org Tue Aug 11 09:31:34 2015 From: christopher at newrules.org (Christopher Mitchell) Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2015 11:31:34 -0500 Subject: [Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks ... Week of 8/11 Message-ID: *Recent Stories from MuniNetworks.org - a project of the * *Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Instructions for unsubscribing appear at bottom. Send feedback. Forward Widely.* "Fibervention": Break the Cable Habit In Chattanooga Sat, August 08, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez If you are lucky enough to live in a community where you have a municipal network as a provider, you already know they often go the extra mile to serve customers. However, they don't always market as well as the incumbents, something that is starting to change with naturally viral ads. Enter Chatanooga's "Fibervention " campaign. ... OMG We love this! Brilliant Campaign! See the first two videos here! ... Holyoke Success Spurs Interest in Mass Muni Networks - Community Broadband Bits Episode 162 Tue, August 04, 2015 | Posted by christopher A few weeks back, we noted an excellent new report on Holyoke Municipal Light Plant in Massachusetts published by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society . This week, we discuss the report and lessons learned from it with David Talbot, Fellow at the Berkman Center. David gives us some of the key takeaways from the report and we discuss what other municipal light plants are doing, including how Holyoke Gas & Electric is using the state owned middle mile network to partner with other municipalities like Greenfield and Leverett. Finally, David offers some insight into how the municipal light plants that have not yet engaged in expanding Internet access think about the challenges of doing so. You can listen to (or read the transcript of) episode 65 , where we interviewed Tim Haas of Holyoke Gas & Electric. ... Listen to the Show Here ... Read the transcript from this episode here ... SandyNet Sharing Awesome Gig Deal With Local Businesses Thu, August 06, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez SandyNet has introduced some incredible fiber connectivity deals for local businesses. Like residents, businesses can now get gigabit service for $60 per month and 100 Mbps for $40 per month. The utility also continues to offer enterprise connections, with rates established on a case-by-case basis. Speeds are symmetrical which can be a critical factor for businesses that often must upload large amounts of data to work with clients. Until SandyNet began to deploy the FTTH network, business customers that needed morebandwidth relied on the town's dedicated Wi-Fi service which offered advertised speeds of up to 30 Mbps download , however, that cost $175 per month. ... The Full Story is Here ... But Don't Miss Our Sandy Video Here ... Jackson Becomes 7th ?Gig City? in Tennessee with Upgrades to its Fiber Network Tue, August 04, 2015 | Posted by Tom Ernste According to a recent report in the Jackson Sun , the city of Jackson, Tennessee is now the seventh ?Gig City? in the state of Tennessee. Jackson Energy Authority (JEA), Jackson?s municipal utility received the special recognition at a January business summit. The Sun focuses on several existing and expected economic benefits that accompany municipal gigabit connectivity. ?These ultra-fast Internet speeds will help to assure innovation as it relates to the next generation of education, medical care, public safety and economic development,? JEA CEO John Ferrell said. Ferrell also noted that ultra-fast Internet connectivity benefitted businesses in the Jackson community by allowing them to avoid excess inventory while still being able to provide customers with fast access to physical products when they need them. ... Way to Go Jackson! More Details ... Cleveland Investigating Fiber Pilot Project in Tennessee Thu, August 06, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez After a feasibility study on the possibility of a municipal triple-play fiber network left Cleveland Utilities feeling "?not overly optimistic?" community leaders have decided to rethink their strategy. The utility board recently voted 5-0 to look deeper at a network that would offer only Internet and voice services. Rather than study the feasibility of serving the entire community, CU wants to first try their hand at working on a limited area with a pilot project. The next step is to work with a consultant that will conduct a more focused feasibility study and develop a business plan. ... More About the Pilot and Possible Services here ... More Feasibility Studies in Colorado and Ohio Mon, August 03, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez Two more communities in Ohio and Colorado are seeking information through broadband feasibility studies. The Aspen Daily News recently reported that Pitkin County has already completed phase one of its feasibility study. This past spring the primary Internet path coming into Aspen via CenturyLink fiber was severed causing widespread outage for 19 hours. The first half of the feasibility study sought ways to introduce a redundant path. The first option was a 100 percent fiber solution and a hybrid fiber/microwave solution was proposed as an alternative. For option A, the consultants recommended a fiber backbone along Highway 82 with fiber lines running into Redstone, Marble, and Snowmass. Microwave could serve nearby Fryingpan Valley. Option B would travel the same route but make more use of microwave. ... Read our Full Story Here ... New Video Series on Better Broadband in Cambridge, Massachusetts Fri, August 07, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez Cambridge, Massachusetts has established a Broadband Task Force and is looking for ways to better its local connectivity. In order to educate the public about the advantages of broadband, the local community CCTV channel will televise presentations and sit-downs between local leaders who can describe how it will impact Cambridge. The first episode of Cambridge Broadband Matters recently aired and is now available to view. It runs approximately 30 minutes long and features Georgiana Chevry of Cambridge Community Learning Center, Susan Flannery of Cambridge Public Library, and Jay Leslie of the Cambridge Housing Authority. One of the topics they address in this episode is the connection between broadband and adult education and workforce development. The issue is critical in Cambridge and many communities as we transition to an information based economy. ... Watch the Video Here ... Community Broadband Media Roundup - August 10 Tue, August 11, 2015 | Posted by rebecca *Colorado* Wired for speed by Mary Shinn, The Durango Herald *Delaware* Newark exploring city-sponsored Internet by Xerxes Wilson, Delaware Online *Indiana* Board eyes way to bring fiber optics to Triton Central by Andy Proffet, Shelbyville News ... Full Roundup Rounded Up Here ... -- You can always find our most recent stories and other resources at http://MuniNetworks.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Community Networks Weekly Updates" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to communitynetworks-weekly+unsubscribe at ilsr.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/a/ilsr.org/d/optout. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at omsoft.com Wed Aug 12 12:45:04 2015 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2015 12:45:04 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Minutes of 08.05 Meeting + Trello Message-ID: <55CBA240.8040600@omsoft.com> Hi All We had a good meeting last week, with a lot of new faces. Hopefully we see some more of them going forward. Please see the last general meeting minutes here: http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=08.05.15.minutes.pdf Also Please check out Trello, a distributed organizational tool. Big thanks to Todd K for getting it setup with most of the tasks we presently have before it. Tasks are on individual cards, which are then grouped on to boards. A board covers a general subject area. Check it out! Claim a task and help us get this project done. Add a new board or cards for other tasks you know need doing, but you don't see on a good card. Everyone can see what has been done on a particular task, when you put some notes on it as to what you have done Should be good, right? Ok everyone let's get to work... Onward! -- Rob Nickerson CEO Om Networks UCD Class of 96 C: 530-848-3865 If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or yelp.com . Please like us on Facebook . and put us in your circle at Google+ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From westof113 at me.com Thu Aug 13 12:30:41 2015 From: westof113 at me.com (Alvin Remmers) Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2015 12:30:41 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Davisgig Digest, Vol 9, Issue 7 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3507E584-F988-409E-9DD8-27BAD46904BD@me.com> I signed up for an account on Trello, then searched the site for DavisGIG with no success. It seems the ?Board Creator or Organizer? has to add members to the board to collaborate, share and discuss. Did I miss an email or something? Thanks! ?AR > On Aug 13, 2015, at 12:00 PM, davisgig-request at list.omsoft.com wrote: > > Also Please check out Trello, a distributed organizational tool. Big > thanks to Todd K for getting it setup with > most of the tasks we presently have before it. From rob at omsoft.com Fri Aug 14 10:29:20 2015 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2015 10:29:20 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Fwd: Yolo County : County Press Releases : Rural Libraries to Receive 1 GB of Broadband Service In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <55CE2570.7020400@omsoft.com> Hi Thanks for the forward ELT! RAN Yolo County : County Press Releases : Rural Libraries to Receive 1 GB of Broadband Service http://www.yolocounty.org/Home/Components/News/News/3106/ Rural Libraries to Receive 1 GB of Broadband Service (Woodland, CA) ? Yolo County?s library branches in Esparto, Yolo and Knights Landing will receive an additional gigabyte of broadband service by the end of 2015. Through Governor Brown and the legislature?s ?Lighting Up Libraries? initiative, as well as the State Library?s partnership with the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC), broadband services are being deployed to public libraries across the state. On behalf of Yolo County, CENIC negotiated with Internet service providers to bring improved, lower cost broadband services to rural libraries within Yolo County at a significantly reduced rate for the next five years. As a result, one GB of high speed broadband service will be available at Yolo County library branches in Esparto, Yolo and Knights Landing, as well as enhanced bandwidth at the Yolo County Library?s central services facility in Woodland. This opportunity for high speed broadband service is part of the Yolo Broadband Strategic Plan, which plays a vital role in keeping communities competitive locally and globally. The strategic plan?s objective is to facilitate affordable access to broadband services while critically supporting the long-term connectivity needs of Yolo County?s residents, businesses and anchor institutions, such as libraries. Enhanced broadband will provide faster and more varied Internet services, including video conferencing, video streaming and delivery of digital content to e-readers. ?Bringing broadband Internet service is essential to our economic stability,? says Yolo County Librarian Patty Wong. ?Broadband will help connect our communities to one another and to the rest of the electronic world.? The Esparto Regional Library is also receiving new equipment to enable the one GB installation thanks to, in part, a $30,000 grant from Southern California Library Cooperative. The enhanced broadband and this equipment will provide opportunities for the Esparto Regional Library and community to embark on projects such as improving free access for patrons, increasing the number of computer stations with the support of the Friends of the Esparto Regional Library, offering online education and computer skills training and providing applications to government and health care resources. The Yolo County Library continues to support the community and provide access to information and services. These changes are possible through the support and partnerships with the community, the Yolo County Library branches and the Friends of the Library. For more information about the Yolo County Library, visit: www.yolocountylibrary.org or connect with the library on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/yolocountylibrary.org . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rl at 1st-mile.org Fri Aug 14 10:54:00 2015 From: rl at 1st-mile.org (Richard Lowenberg) Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:54:00 -0600 Subject: [Davisgig] Yolo County Rural Libraries to Receive 1 GB of Broadband Service In-Reply-To: <55CE2570.7020400@omsoft.com> References: <55CE2570.7020400@omsoft.com> Message-ID: <4999d2f11dd8263f8c85b688b1d7322d@mail.dcn.davis.ca.us> Excellent news about Yolo County Libraries. Here's an additional link of relevance: http://cenic.org/network/BroadbandLibraries Over many years, CENIC has also fiber connected statewide school districts, higher ed. campuses and more. Discussion re: DavisGig with CENIC senior staff may be worthwhile at some time, possibly with key UCD and City network staff. RL > * Yolo County : County Press Releases : Rural Libraries to Receive 1 > GB of Broadband Service > > http://www.yolocounty.org/Home/Components/News/News/3106/ [1] > > RURAL LIBRARIES TO RECEIVE 1 GB OF BROADBAND SERVICE > > (Woodland, CA) ? Yolo County?s library branches in Esparto, Yolo > and Knights Landing will receive an additional gigabyte of broadband > service by the end of 2015. > (snip) --------------------------------------------------------------- Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director 1st-Mile Institute 505-603-5200 Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504, rl at 1st-mile.org www.1st-mile.org --------------------------------------------------------------- From tdkaiser at ucdavis.edu Tue Aug 18 10:26:51 2015 From: tdkaiser at ucdavis.edu (Todd Kaiser) Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2015 10:26:51 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Davisgig Digest, Vol 9, Issue 7 In-Reply-To: <3507E584-F988-409E-9DD8-27BAD46904BD@me.com> References: <3507E584-F988-409E-9DD8-27BAD46904BD@me.com> Message-ID: Thanks for catching that Alvin! Turns out you need to be added to each board, not just the parent organization. Everyone should have access to the PR Efforts and Fundraising Raising boards. Best, Todd Kaiser On Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 12:30 PM, Alvin Remmers wrote: > I signed up for an account on Trello, then searched the site for DavisGIG > with no success. It seems the ?Board Creator or Organizer? has to add > members to the board to collaborate, share and discuss. Did I miss an email > or something? > Thanks! > ?AR > > > On Aug 13, 2015, at 12:00 PM, davisgig-request at list.omsoft.com wrote: > > > > Also Please check out Trello, a distributed organizational tool. Big > > thanks to Todd K for getting it setup with > > most of the tasks we presently have before it. > > _______________________________________________ > > Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start > > Davisgig mailing list > Davisgig at list.omsoft.com > http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at omsoft.com Wed Aug 19 08:54:59 2015 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2015 08:54:59 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Fwd: Meetings + Fiscal Responsibilty/Organization In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <55D4A6D3.2060906@omsoft.com> Hi Davisites Some announcements and meta organizational structure discussion follows. 0) Discussion of DavisGIG with City of Davis IT staff This is today at 9:30am. Although am very busy tomorrow, I'll try and write something about it. 1) Round table discussion hopefully with seasoned Sr Sales Manager from Fujitsu Networks. Friday September 4th likely some time in the am, im shooting for 10-1, venue and exact time to follow. This person has done numerous deployments and has provided us with a generic proposal they give to City governments they work with to build fiber optic networks. Their recently completed build is Taos, NM. http://www.bbcmag.com/2015mags/May_June/BBC_May15_KitCarson.pdf Im looking for 2-4 DavisGIG volunteers who are serious about assisting efforts, and have the technical, financial, organizational knowledge to hear a detailed analysis of strategies and challenges relating to municipal community fiber buildouts. If you want to come, or just want to read it, Ill send you the copy of the generic proposal. It is very interesting. Plan to have some additional folks from the City or County to attend this informational session, Ill be checking with relevant staff. 2) Fiscal Responsibilty/Organization One of the main issues we currently face is dispensing funds to achieve our goals. An exceptionally committed individual has donated another $200 this month, and we are ready to get some full color lawn signs going to raise our profile in the community and further raise funds. Presently, we have a draft MOU before us from DCN acting as a fiscal agent and providing its long established 501c3 non profit network status for the cause of Davis GIG, which is a group of volunteers working to implement community owned and operated fiber optic network for all Davis homes and businesses. At the last board meeting, we have come to the same realization that we came to, at the DCN board meeting which was, DavisGIG volunteers are a loosely formulated ad hoc committee of Davis citizens with out a formal operating structure. So no one is authorized to sign any agreements or MOUs to disperse non profit collected funds collected through the website or in person. So some organizational structure is required, and is a rather necessary thing at this point. Need to buy signs, and check the prices from only local vendors, I'm collecting at the Trello card BTW. Subscribe to that card to get updates. Thankfully a volunteer has provided a contact for possible legal guidance on creating a separate but minimal framework for having a board of Directors, though not pursue any non profit or corporate status or charter. I had thought to myself, to short circuit this, we could simply govern this project fiscally and orgnizationally, as a special committee of DCN. DCN has traditionally had a variety of committees, Web team committees dedicated to things such as DCN.org and other hosted domains, website development; Resource Allocation Committee, awarding free resources to community non-profits and PTAs; Technical Operations Committee which guided maintenance and growth of the network. There were others. We could propose to the DCN Board our group be considered the DavisGIG Committee, that way we don't need to do anything else structurally. DCN's structural operation is documented through our website, and there have been heavily attended volunteer committees in the past that were fairly active, so organizationally, structurally this is a worked out thing with DCN. Although I have been a DCN board member since 1998 or so, the importance of having community owned and operated fiber optic and the timing in the market is such that, this is a great chance to work in a broader community sense, to make this one time acquisition, planning and installation happen correctly and with full citizen input. I was not President, when this email list started, just a citizen, but network operator advising the community and proposing a preferable way of deliver Internet, available freely in many other nations. Too many good things accrue with this project not to do it carefully and with as much considered community input as possible. DCN as a 23 year plus organization carries its own reputation and opinions in the community, and its important that DavisGIG be given the best effort at succeeding there. So before I thought I would contact the attorney contact we have, I thought I would throw this question out to the group and take measure of the idea. Does anyone have opinions one way or the the other? Put it on the Trello card. Seriously though Do, we need a doodle poll called existential question ? I've setup a Trello board with three cards and voting. Put your opinions one way or another on the particular card that is pertinent and VOTE your choice. 1) Form a board of directors, seek legal advice, form some sort of formal organization and governing document. 2) Be a sub committee of DCN folded under its bylaws and board of directors. 3) Someone suggest an alternative. A Coop? Thanks for anyone who has any input. From steve at dcn.org Wed Aug 19 11:20:10 2015 From: steve at dcn.org (Steve McMahon) Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2015 11:20:10 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Fwd: Meetings + Fiscal Responsibilty/Organization In-Reply-To: <55D4A6D3.2060906@omsoft.com> References: <55D4A6D3.2060906@omsoft.com> Message-ID: Thanks to Rob for raising the organizational topic. As you read my message, keep in mind that I'm a long-time DCN volunteer and board member. I think that DavisGig operating under DCN's organizational umbrella is a great idea. Some of my reasons: 1. Staying organizationally light allows DavisGig to be an agile, activist organization without having to spend time adopting bylaws, electing officers, having regular board meetings and such. 2. DCN's goals in this matter are basically identical to DavisGig's, and the board/staff is happy to deal with the tedious stuff. DCN wants and has endorsed municipal fiber. And, DCN would be happy to bring onto its board nearly anyone that has a long-run interest in these issues. 3. DCN already has a 501(c)3 designation as a tax-exempt organization. This may matter a lot if we receive any contributions large enough that someone cares about the tax deduction. Or if grant money becomes available. 4. There is not necessarily a point for DavisGig to exist organizationally beyond the activist phase. Maybe there will be a successor organization, but we probably don't want to worry about its structure now. 5. DCN is a credible and known partner in dealing with the COD, DJUSD and UCD as well as lots of local organizations like PTA/PTOs. One question that's come up: if this comes to a bond or tax issue, would DCN be able to use contributed funds to advocate for the issue? The simple answer is: no problem. IRS regulations forbid electoral intervention in favor of candidates. There is no problem with issue advocacy even if the issue is before the voters. We just can't work on behalf of or against candidates. I doubt that anybody in DavisGig has any interest in having the organization be involved in advocating for or against any candidate for office. On Wed, Aug 19, 2015 at 8:54 AM, Robert Nickerson wrote: > > > Hi Davisites > > Some announcements and meta organizational structure discussion follows. > > 0) Discussion of DavisGIG with City of Davis IT staff > > This is today at 9:30am. Although am very busy tomorrow, I'll try and > write something about it. > > > 1) Round table discussion hopefully with seasoned Sr Sales Manager from > Fujitsu Networks. Friday September 4th likely some time in the am, im > shooting for 10-1, venue and exact time to follow. > > This person has done numerous deployments and has provided us with a > generic proposal they give to City governments they work with to build > fiber optic networks. Their recently completed build is Taos, NM. > > http://www.bbcmag.com/2015mags/May_June/BBC_May15_KitCarson.pdf > > Im looking for 2-4 DavisGIG volunteers who are serious about assisting > efforts, and have the technical, financial, organizational knowledge to > hear a detailed analysis of strategies and challenges relating to > municipal community fiber buildouts. If you want to come, or just want > to read it, Ill send you the copy of the generic proposal. It is very > interesting. > > Plan to have some additional folks from the City or County to attend > this informational session, Ill be checking with relevant staff. > > 2) Fiscal Responsibilty/Organization > > One of the main issues we currently face is dispensing funds to achieve > our goals. An exceptionally committed individual has donated another > $200 this month, and we are ready to get some full color lawn signs > going to raise our profile in the community and further raise funds. > > Presently, we have a draft MOU before us from DCN acting as a fiscal > agent and providing its long established 501c3 non profit network status > for the cause of Davis GIG, which is a group of volunteers working to > implement community owned and operated fiber optic network for all Davis > homes and businesses. > > At the last board meeting, we have come to the same realization that we > came to, at the DCN board meeting which was, DavisGIG volunteers are a > loosely formulated ad hoc committee of Davis citizens with out a formal > operating structure. So no one is authorized to sign any agreements or > MOUs to disperse non profit collected funds collected through the > website or in person. > > So some organizational structure is required, and is a rather necessary > thing at this point. Need to buy signs, and check the prices from only > local vendors, I'm collecting at the Trello card BTW. Subscribe to that > card to get updates. > > Thankfully a volunteer has provided a contact for possible legal > guidance on creating a separate but minimal framework for having a board > of Directors, though not pursue any non profit or corporate status or > charter. > > I had thought to myself, to short circuit this, we could simply govern > this project fiscally and orgnizationally, as a special committee of > DCN. DCN has traditionally had a variety of committees, Web team > committees dedicated to things such as DCN.org and other hosted domains, > website development; Resource Allocation Committee, awarding free > resources to community non-profits and PTAs; Technical Operations > Committee which guided maintenance and growth of the network. There were > others. > > We could propose to the DCN Board our group be considered the DavisGIG > Committee, that way we don't need to do anything else structurally. > DCN's structural operation is documented through our website, and there > have been heavily attended volunteer committees in the past that were > fairly active, so organizationally, structurally this is a worked out > thing with DCN. > > Although I have been a DCN board member since 1998 or so, the > importance of having community owned and operated fiber optic and the > timing in the market is such that, this is a great chance to work in a > broader community sense, to make this one time acquisition, planning and > installation happen correctly and with full citizen input. > I was not President, when this email list started, just a citizen, but > network operator advising the community and proposing a preferable way > of deliver Internet, available freely in many other nations. Too many > good things accrue with this project not to do it carefully and with as > much considered community input as possible. > > DCN as a 23 year plus organization carries its own reputation and > opinions in the community, and its important that DavisGIG be given the > best effort at succeeding there. > > So before I thought I would contact the attorney contact we have, I > thought I would throw this question out to the group and take measure of > the idea. > > Does anyone have opinions one way or the the other? Put it on the Trello > card. > > > Seriously though Do, we need a doodle poll called existential question ? > > I've setup a Trello board with three cards and voting. Put your opinions > one way or another on the particular card that is pertinent and VOTE your > choice. > > 1) Form a board of directors, seek legal advice, form some sort of > formal organization and governing document. > > 2) Be a sub committee of DCN folded under its bylaws and board of > directors. > > 3) Someone suggest an alternative. A Coop? > > > Thanks for anyone who has any input. > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start > > Davisgig mailing list > Davisgig at list.omsoft.com > http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mike790 at gmail.com Wed Aug 19 14:14:35 2015 From: mike790 at gmail.com (Mike Adams) Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2015 14:14:35 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Conference in Sept "Fiber for the New Economy" Message-ID: http://www.bbcmag.com/lexington/ Other than transportation and food and lodging, the cost for the conference for "community representatives" is only $125. -- Mike Adams -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dawalter at dcn.org Wed Aug 19 16:10:20 2015 From: dawalter at dcn.org (Douglas A. Walter) Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2015 16:10:20 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Fwd: Meetings + Fiscal Responsibilty/Organization In-Reply-To: References: <55D4A6D3.2060906@omsoft.com> Message-ID: <278D94E0-F76B-4EAB-830E-5DECC3640514@dcn.org> Hi all. I'll try to go to Trello and not troll. I think Steve is onto a lot of positives for this approach of using DCN. At some point, a group that specifically advocates a political position will need to be formed, unless we find a vehicle for finance that's not a tax of some sort -- a 501(C)3 like DCN cannot do that. Their tax status would potentially be at risk if they were urging voters to pass (or reject) a future "Measure G," to institute a use tax, or some other voter-approved financing mechanism. So, if the choice is form a campaign committee now, or form one later? why not now? Perhaps because we don't yet know precisely what it will campaign for (that is, we know it'll advocate DavisGig, but through what kind of tax, at what election?). A coop is for chickens, but a cooperative might be an organizational form for DavisGig. But are we a group of consumers forming a co-op to supply ourselves with public Gigabit Internet service? Or a worker-consumer hybrid co-op? Again, I might try to develop this on our Trello cards, but I'm not convinced that this is a great place for a co-op, much as I love them. I am, of course, quite willing to assist with formulating bylaws and moving towards incorporation, if a cooperative is what we determine we want to be; I've never done that, but I've done a lot of working with lawyers and people who are organizing co-ops. On Aug 19, 2015, at 11:20 AM, Steve McMahon wrote: > Thanks to Rob for raising the organizational topic. As you read my message, keep in mind that I'm a long-time DCN volunteer and board member. > > I think that DavisGig operating under DCN's organizational umbrella is a great idea. Some of my reasons: > > Staying organizationally light allows DavisGig to be an agile, activist organization without having to spend time adopting bylaws, electing officers, having regular board meetings and such. > DCN's goals in this matter are basically identical to DavisGig's, and the board/staff is happy to deal with the tedious stuff. DCN wants and has endorsed municipal fiber. And, DCN would be happy to bring onto its board nearly anyone that has a long-run interest in these issues. > DCN already has a 501(c)3 designation as a tax-exempt organization. This may matter a lot if we receive any contributions large enough that someone cares about the tax deduction. Or if grant money becomes available. > There is not necessarily a point for DavisGig to exist organizationally beyond the activist phase. Maybe there will be a successor organization, but we probably don't want to worry about its structure now. > DCN is a credible and known partner in dealing with the COD, DJUSD and UCD as well as lots of local organizations like PTA/PTOs. > One question that's come up: if this comes to a bond or tax issue, would DCN be able to use contributed funds to advocate for the issue? The simple answer is: no problem. IRS regulations forbid electoral intervention in favor of candidates. There is no problem with issue advocacy even if the issue is before the voters. We just can't work on behalf of or against candidates. I doubt that anybody in DavisGig has any interest in having the organization be involved in advocating for or against any candidate for office. > > On Wed, Aug 19, 2015 at 8:54 AM, Robert Nickerson wrote: > > > Hi Davisites > > Some announcements and meta organizational structure discussion follows. > [snip] > > 2) Fiscal Responsibilty/Organization > > One of the main issues we currently face is dispensing funds to achieve > our goals. An exceptionally committed individual has donated another > $200 this month, and we are ready to get some full color lawn signs > going to raise our profile in the community and further raise funds. > > Presently, we have a draft MOU before us from DCN acting as a fiscal > agent and providing its long established 501c3 non profit network status > for the cause of Davis GIG, which is a group of volunteers working to > implement community owned and operated fiber optic network for all Davis > homes and businesses. > > At the last board meeting, we have come to the same realization that we > came to, at the DCN board meeting which was, DavisGIG volunteers are a > loosely formulated ad hoc committee of Davis citizens with out a formal > operating structure. So no one is authorized to sign any agreements or > MOUs to disperse non profit collected funds collected through the > website or in person. > > So some organizational structure is required, and is a rather necessary > thing at this point. Need to buy signs, and check the prices from only > local vendors, I'm collecting at the Trello card BTW. Subscribe to that > card to get updates. > > Thankfully a volunteer has provided a contact for possible legal > guidance on creating a separate but minimal framework for having a board > of Directors, though not pursue any non profit or corporate status or > charter. > > I had thought to myself, to short circuit this, we could simply govern > this project fiscally and orgnizationally, as a special committee of > DCN. DCN has traditionally had a variety of committees, Web team > committees dedicated to things such as DCN.org and other hosted domains, > website development; Resource Allocation Committee, awarding free > resources to community non-profits and PTAs; Technical Operations > Committee which guided maintenance and growth of the network. There were > others. > > We could propose to the DCN Board our group be considered the DavisGIG > Committee, that way we don't need to do anything else structurally. > DCN's structural operation is documented through our website, and there > have been heavily attended volunteer committees in the past that were > fairly active, so organizationally, structurally this is a worked out > thing with DCN. > > Although I have been a DCN board member since 1998 or so, the > importance of having community owned and operated fiber optic and the > timing in the market is such that, this is a great chance to work in a > broader community sense, to make this one time acquisition, planning and > installation happen correctly and with full citizen input. > I was not President, when this email list started, just a citizen, but > network operator advising the community and proposing a preferable way > of deliver Internet, available freely in many other nations. Too many > good things accrue with this project not to do it carefully and with as > much considered community input as possible. > > DCN as a 23 year plus organization carries its own reputation and > opinions in the community, and its important that DavisGIG be given the > best effort at succeeding there. > > So before I thought I would contact the attorney contact we have, I > thought I would throw this question out to the group and take measure of > the idea. > > Does anyone have opinions one way or the the other? Put it on the Trello card. > > > Seriously though Do, we need a doodle poll called existential question ? > > I've setup a Trello board with three cards and voting. Put your opinions > one way or another on the particular card that is pertinent and VOTE your choice. > > 1) Form a board of directors, seek legal advice, form some sort of > formal organization and governing document. > > 2) Be a sub committee of DCN folded under its bylaws and board of > directors. > > 3) Someone suggest an alternative. A Coop? > > > Thanks for anyone who has any input. > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start > > Davisgig mailing list > Davisgig at list.omsoft.com > http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig > > _______________________________________________ > > Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start > > Davisgig mailing list > Davisgig at list.omsoft.com > http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig =-=-= Doug Walter, home edition dawalter at dcn.org Wag more (bark less) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From steve at dcn.org Wed Aug 19 16:50:48 2015 From: steve at dcn.org (Steve McMahon) Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2015 16:50:48 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Fwd: Meetings + Fiscal Responsibilty/Organization In-Reply-To: <278D94E0-F76B-4EAB-830E-5DECC3640514@dcn.org> References: <55D4A6D3.2060906@omsoft.com> <278D94E0-F76B-4EAB-830E-5DECC3640514@dcn.org> Message-ID: A great source on campaign limits for 501c3 organizations: http://bolderadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Ballot_Measures_and_Public_Charities.pdf >From that document: """ 501(c)(3) public charities can proactively initiate ballot measures, react to measures proposed by others, and support or oppose ballot measures and encourage the public to vote accordingly. Organizations may propose ballot measures (including indirect initiatives) and collect signatures so a ballot measure can be certified. Additionally, public charities can challenge the certification of any proposed ballot measure or oppose indirect initiatives by lobbying the legislative body. Additionally, even though public charities cannot support or oppose candidates for public office, they can urge voters to support or oppose particular ballot measures. The IRS considers ballot measure work to be a lobbying activity because members of the voting public act as legislators when they vote ?yes? or ?no? on the legislation proposed in ballot measures. """ The big limit is that this cannot be all that the organization does or its main reason for existing. And, saying anything about candidates is the third rail for a 501c3. On Wed, Aug 19, 2015 at 4:10 PM, Douglas A. Walter wrote: > Hi all. I'll try to go to Trello and not troll. I think Steve is onto a > lot of positives for this approach of using DCN. > > At some point, a group that specifically advocates a political position > will need to be formed, unless we find a vehicle for finance that's not a > tax of some sort -- a 501(C)3 like DCN cannot do that. Their tax status > would potentially be at risk if they were urging voters to pass (or reject) > a future "Measure G," to institute a use tax, or some other voter-approved > financing mechanism. So, if the choice is form a campaign committee now, or > form one later? why not now? Perhaps because we don't yet know precisely > what it will campaign for (that is, we know it'll advocate DavisGig, but > through what kind of tax, at what election?). > > A coop is for chickens, but a cooperative might be an organizational form > for DavisGig. But are we a group of *consumers* forming a co-op to supply > ourselves with public Gigabit Internet service? Or a *worker-consumer* > hybrid co-op? Again, I might try to develop this on our Trello cards, but > I'm not convinced that this is a great place for a co-op, much as I love > them. I am, of course, quite willing to assist with formulating bylaws and > moving towards incorporation, if a cooperative is what we determine we want > to be; I've never done that, but I've done a lot of working with lawyers > and people who are organizing co-ops. > > On Aug 19, 2015, at 11:20 AM, Steve McMahon wrote: > > Thanks to Rob for raising the organizational topic. As you read my > message, keep in mind that I'm a long-time DCN volunteer and board member. > > I think that DavisGig operating under DCN's organizational umbrella is a > great idea. Some of my reasons: > > > 1. Staying organizationally light allows DavisGig to be an agile, > activist organization without having to spend time adopting bylaws, > electing officers, having regular board meetings and such. > 2. DCN's goals in this matter are basically identical to DavisGig's, > and the board/staff is happy to deal with the tedious stuff. DCN wants and > has endorsed municipal fiber. And, DCN would be happy to bring onto its > board nearly anyone that has a long-run interest in these issues. > 3. DCN already has a 501(c)3 designation as a tax-exempt organization. > This may matter a lot if we receive any contributions large enough that > someone cares about the tax deduction. Or if grant money becomes available. > 4. There is not necessarily a point for DavisGig to exist > organizationally beyond the activist phase. Maybe there will be a successor > organization, but we probably don't want to worry about its structure now. > 5. DCN is a credible and known partner in dealing with the COD, DJUSD > and UCD as well as lots of local organizations like PTA/PTOs. > > One question that's come up: if this comes to a bond or tax issue, would > DCN be able to use contributed funds to advocate for the issue? The simple > answer is: no problem. IRS regulations forbid electoral intervention in > favor of candidates. There is no problem with issue advocacy even if the > issue is before the voters. We just can't work on behalf of or against > candidates. I doubt that anybody in DavisGig has any interest in having the > organization be involved in advocating for or against any candidate for > office. > > On Wed, Aug 19, 2015 at 8:54 AM, Robert Nickerson wrote: > >> >> >> Hi Davisites >> >> Some announcements and meta organizational structure discussion follows. >> [snip] >> >> >> 2) Fiscal Responsibilty/Organization >> >> One of the main issues we currently face is dispensing funds to achieve >> our goals. An exceptionally committed individual has donated another >> $200 this month, and we are ready to get some full color lawn signs >> going to raise our profile in the community and further raise funds. >> >> Presently, we have a draft MOU before us from DCN acting as a fiscal >> agent and providing its long established 501c3 non profit network status >> for the cause of Davis GIG, which is a group of volunteers working to >> implement community owned and operated fiber optic network for all Davis >> homes and businesses. >> >> At the last board meeting, we have come to the same realization that we >> came to, at the DCN board meeting which was, DavisGIG volunteers are a >> loosely formulated ad hoc committee of Davis citizens with out a formal >> operating structure. So no one is authorized to sign any agreements or >> MOUs to disperse non profit collected funds collected through the >> website or in person. >> >> So some organizational structure is required, and is a rather necessary >> thing at this point. Need to buy signs, and check the prices from only >> local vendors, I'm collecting at the Trello card BTW. Subscribe to that >> card to get updates. >> >> Thankfully a volunteer has provided a contact for possible legal >> guidance on creating a separate but minimal framework for having a board >> of Directors, though not pursue any non profit or corporate status or >> charter. >> >> I had thought to myself, to short circuit this, we could simply govern >> this project fiscally and orgnizationally, as a special committee of >> DCN. DCN has traditionally had a variety of committees, Web team >> committees dedicated to things such as DCN.org and other hosted domains, >> website development; Resource Allocation Committee, awarding free >> resources to community non-profits and PTAs; Technical Operations >> Committee which guided maintenance and growth of the network. There were >> others. >> >> We could propose to the DCN Board our group be considered the DavisGIG >> Committee, that way we don't need to do anything else structurally. >> DCN's structural operation is documented through our website, and there >> have been heavily attended volunteer committees in the past that were >> fairly active, so organizationally, structurally this is a worked out >> thing with DCN. >> >> Although I have been a DCN board member since 1998 or so, the >> importance of having community owned and operated fiber optic and the >> timing in the market is such that, this is a great chance to work in a >> broader community sense, to make this one time acquisition, planning and >> installation happen correctly and with full citizen input. >> I was not President, when this email list started, just a citizen, but >> network operator advising the community and proposing a preferable way >> of deliver Internet, available freely in many other nations. Too many >> good things accrue with this project not to do it carefully and with as >> much considered community input as possible. >> >> DCN as a 23 year plus organization carries its own reputation and >> opinions in the community, and its important that DavisGIG be given the >> best effort at succeeding there. >> >> So before I thought I would contact the attorney contact we have, I >> thought I would throw this question out to the group and take measure of >> the idea. >> >> Does anyone have opinions one way or the the other? Put it on the Trello >> card. >> >> >> Seriously though Do, we need a doodle poll called existential question ? >> >> I've setup a Trello board with three cards and voting. Put your opinions >> one way or another on the particular card that is pertinent and VOTE your >> choice. >> >> 1) Form a board of directors, seek legal advice, form some sort of >> formal organization and governing document. >> >> 2) Be a sub committee of DCN folded under its bylaws and board of >> directors. >> >> 3) Someone suggest an alternative. A Coop? >> >> >> Thanks for anyone who has any input. >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: >> >> http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start >> >> Davisgig mailing list >> Davisgig at list.omsoft.com >> http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig >> > > _______________________________________________ > > Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start > > Davisgig mailing list > Davisgig at list.omsoft.com > http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig > > > =-=-= > Doug Walter, home edition > dawalter at dcn.org > Wag more (bark less) > > > _______________________________________________ > > Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start > > Davisgig mailing list > Davisgig at list.omsoft.com > http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dawalter at dcn.org Wed Aug 19 17:01:36 2015 From: dawalter at dcn.org (Douglas A. Walter) Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2015 17:01:36 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Fwd: Meetings + Fiscal Responsibilty/Organization In-Reply-To: References: <55D4A6D3.2060906@omsoft.com> <278D94E0-F76B-4EAB-830E-5DECC3640514@dcn.org> Message-ID: Thanks - my education continues! On Aug 19, 2015, at 4:50 PM, Steve McMahon wrote: > A great source on campaign limits for 501c3 organizations: http://bolderadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Ballot_Measures_and_Public_Charities.pdf > > From that document: > """ > 501(c)(3) public charities can proactively initiate ballot measures, react to measures proposed by others, and support or oppose ballot measures and encourage the public to vote accordingly. Organizations may propose ballot measures (including indirect initiatives) and collect signatures so a ballot measure can be certified. Additionally, public charities can challenge the certification of any proposed ballot measure or oppose indirect initiatives by lobbying the legislative body. Additionally, even though public charities cannot support or oppose candidates for public office, they can urge voters to support or oppose particular ballot measures. The IRS considers ballot measure work to be a lobbying activity because members of the voting public act as legislators when they vote ?yes? or ?no? on the legislation proposed in ballot measures. > """ > > The big limit is that this cannot be all that the organization does or its main reason for existing. And, saying anything about candidates is the third rail for a 501c3. > > On Wed, Aug 19, 2015 at 4:10 PM, Douglas A. Walter wrote: > Hi all. I'll try to go to Trello and not troll. I think Steve is onto a lot of positives for this approach of using DCN. > > At some point, a group that specifically advocates a political position will need to be formed, unless we find a vehicle for finance that's not a tax of some sort -- a 501(C)3 like DCN cannot do that. Their tax status would potentially be at risk if they were urging voters to pass (or reject) a future "Measure G," to institute a use tax, or some other voter-approved financing mechanism. So, if the choice is form a campaign committee now, or form one later? why not now? Perhaps because we don't yet know precisely what it will campaign for (that is, we know it'll advocate DavisGig, but through what kind of tax, at what election?). > > A coop is for chickens, but a cooperative might be an organizational form for DavisGig. But are we a group of consumers forming a co-op to supply ourselves with public Gigabit Internet service? Or a worker-consumer hybrid co-op? Again, I might try to develop this on our Trello cards, but I'm not convinced that this is a great place for a co-op, much as I love them. I am, of course, quite willing to assist with formulating bylaws and moving towards incorporation, if a cooperative is what we determine we want to be; I've never done that, but I've done a lot of working with lawyers and people who are organizing co-ops. > > On Aug 19, 2015, at 11:20 AM, Steve McMahon wrote: > >> Thanks to Rob for raising the organizational topic. As you read my message, keep in mind that I'm a long-time DCN volunteer and board member. >> >> I think that DavisGig operating under DCN's organizational umbrella is a great idea. Some of my reasons: >> >> Staying organizationally light allows DavisGig to be an agile, activist organization without having to spend time adopting bylaws, electing officers, having regular board meetings and such. >> DCN's goals in this matter are basically identical to DavisGig's, and the board/staff is happy to deal with the tedious stuff. DCN wants and has endorsed municipal fiber. And, DCN would be happy to bring onto its board nearly anyone that has a long-run interest in these issues. >> DCN already has a 501(c)3 designation as a tax-exempt organization. This may matter a lot if we receive any contributions large enough that someone cares about the tax deduction. Or if grant money becomes available. >> There is not necessarily a point for DavisGig to exist organizationally beyond the activist phase. Maybe there will be a successor organization, but we probably don't want to worry about its structure now. >> DCN is a credible and known partner in dealing with the COD, DJUSD and UCD as well as lots of local organizations like PTA/PTOs. >> One question that's come up: if this comes to a bond or tax issue, would DCN be able to use contributed funds to advocate for the issue? The simple answer is: no problem. IRS regulations forbid electoral intervention in favor of candidates. There is no problem with issue advocacy even if the issue is before the voters. We just can't work on behalf of or against candidates. I doubt that anybody in DavisGig has any interest in having the organization be involved in advocating for or against any candidate for office. >> >> On Wed, Aug 19, 2015 at 8:54 AM, Robert Nickerson wrote: >> >> >> Hi Davisites >> >> Some announcements and meta organizational structure discussion follows. >> [snip] >> >> >> 2) Fiscal Responsibilty/Organization >> >> One of the main issues we currently face is dispensing funds to achieve >> our goals. An exceptionally committed individual has donated another >> $200 this month, and we are ready to get some full color lawn signs >> going to raise our profile in the community and further raise funds. >> >> Presently, we have a draft MOU before us from DCN acting as a fiscal >> agent and providing its long established 501c3 non profit network status >> for the cause of Davis GIG, which is a group of volunteers working to >> implement community owned and operated fiber optic network for all Davis >> homes and businesses. >> >> At the last board meeting, we have come to the same realization that we >> came to, at the DCN board meeting which was, DavisGIG volunteers are a >> loosely formulated ad hoc committee of Davis citizens with out a formal >> operating structure. So no one is authorized to sign any agreements or >> MOUs to disperse non profit collected funds collected through the >> website or in person. >> >> So some organizational structure is required, and is a rather necessary >> thing at this point. Need to buy signs, and check the prices from only >> local vendors, I'm collecting at the Trello card BTW. Subscribe to that >> card to get updates. >> >> Thankfully a volunteer has provided a contact for possible legal >> guidance on creating a separate but minimal framework for having a board >> of Directors, though not pursue any non profit or corporate status or >> charter. >> >> I had thought to myself, to short circuit this, we could simply govern >> this project fiscally and orgnizationally, as a special committee of >> DCN. DCN has traditionally had a variety of committees, Web team >> committees dedicated to things such as DCN.org and other hosted domains, >> website development; Resource Allocation Committee, awarding free >> resources to community non-profits and PTAs; Technical Operations >> Committee which guided maintenance and growth of the network. There were >> others. >> >> We could propose to the DCN Board our group be considered the DavisGIG >> Committee, that way we don't need to do anything else structurally. >> DCN's structural operation is documented through our website, and there >> have been heavily attended volunteer committees in the past that were >> fairly active, so organizationally, structurally this is a worked out >> thing with DCN. >> >> Although I have been a DCN board member since 1998 or so, the >> importance of having community owned and operated fiber optic and the >> timing in the market is such that, this is a great chance to work in a >> broader community sense, to make this one time acquisition, planning and >> installation happen correctly and with full citizen input. >> I was not President, when this email list started, just a citizen, but >> network operator advising the community and proposing a preferable way >> of deliver Internet, available freely in many other nations. Too many >> good things accrue with this project not to do it carefully and with as >> much considered community input as possible. >> >> DCN as a 23 year plus organization carries its own reputation and >> opinions in the community, and its important that DavisGIG be given the >> best effort at succeeding there. >> >> So before I thought I would contact the attorney contact we have, I >> thought I would throw this question out to the group and take measure of >> the idea. >> >> Does anyone have opinions one way or the the other? Put it on the Trello card. >> >> >> Seriously though Do, we need a doodle poll called existential question ? >> >> I've setup a Trello board with three cards and voting. Put your opinions >> one way or another on the particular card that is pertinent and VOTE your choice. >> >> 1) Form a board of directors, seek legal advice, form some sort of >> formal organization and governing document. >> >> 2) Be a sub committee of DCN folded under its bylaws and board of >> directors. >> >> 3) Someone suggest an alternative. A Coop? >> >> >> Thanks for anyone who has any input. >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: >> >> http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start >> >> Davisgig mailing list >> Davisgig at list.omsoft.com >> http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: >> >> http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start >> >> Davisgig mailing list >> Davisgig at list.omsoft.com >> http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig > > =-=-= > Doug Walter, home edition > dawalter at dcn.org > Wag more (bark less) > > > _______________________________________________ > > Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start > > Davisgig mailing list > Davisgig at list.omsoft.com > http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig > > > _______________________________________________ > > Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start > > Davisgig mailing list > Davisgig at list.omsoft.com > http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig -- ?Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.? -- Elizabeth Alexander Doug Walter ? dawalter at dcn.org ? (home address) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From christopher at newrules.org Thu Aug 20 08:12:44 2015 From: christopher at newrules.org (Christopher Mitchell) Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2015 10:12:44 -0500 Subject: [Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks... Week of 8/20 Message-ID: *Recent Stories from MuniNetworks.org - a project of the **Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Instructions for unsubscribing appear at bottom. Send feedback. Forward Widely.* *Running late this week - back on Tuesday next week! Big stories below in the meantime ...* Want a Gig? Ask Consultants the Right Questions Wed, August 12, 2015 | Posted by christopher For years, we have been frustrated at the tendency of communities and consultants to view municipal fiber networks as a binary decision. Should we or shouldn't we? Should they or shouldn't they? At its worst, it is framed with the most expensive approach - borrowing for a citywide all-at-once approach. Consider this framing by a recent story in a Portland, Oregon suburb from the Oregonian : Hillsboro officials have heard back from the consultant they hired to examine the feasibility of building a municipal fiber network that would bring high-speed, lower-cost Internet service to city residents. The answer? Don't do it. Stories like this make my blood boil. It is the *absolute wrong question*. But to delve into it, I want to abstract away from any specific consultants or approaches. This is not a failing of a single consultant, but something we have seen to various degrees from many. ... More Here - We have had Great Feedback on this article! ... Who Has Citywide Gigabit Internet Access for $100 or Less? Mon, August 10, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez As Westminster begins serving customers with its new FTTH network and partner Ting , we were curious how many communities are there where a residential subscriber can obtain affordable gigabit access? We estimate the number of networks, large or small, where a majority of residents in a community can obtain gigabit service for $100 or less to be 12. Westminster will be there in a few years. We included municipal networks, cooperatives, and privately owned companies. When considering networks that cover multiple jurisdictions in a single area, we counted it as one (thus Google counts as 1 in KC, Chattanooga is 1 in TN). And we were looking for gigabit networks - not just gigabitdownload . While we prefer to see symmetrical connections, we accepted 500 Mbps up for our threshold. ... See the Full List Here ... Modest Investment Yields Results in Steamboat Springs - Community Broadband Bits Episode 163 Tue, August 11, 2015 | Posted by christopher When Steamboat Springs resolved to improve Internet access for key community anchor institutions and businesses, they decided to make an economical investment in a carrier neutral facility to allow multiple ISPs to invest and compete with each other. In episode 163 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, Tim Miles explains what that means and how they did it. Tim is the Technology Director at Steamboat Springs and South Route School Districts in Colorado. He tells us about the poor connectivity the community had from CenturyLink and how they opened a bottleneck to encourage more investment. In part because of how Colorado limits local authority to build networks, they formed the Northwest Colorado Broadband Cooperative with the local Chamber of Commerce . They are already seeing benefits in the form of lower prices for anchor institutions and reduced outages - Tim describes just how painful those outages had been when there was no local Internet choice. ... Listen to the Show here ... Hudson Lays Out Details for Its Municipal Gigabit Network Thu, August 13, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez Hudson, Ohio's upcoming municipal network, Velocity Broadband , may be serving commercial customers as early as September, reports the Hudson Hub Times . At a July 22nd Rotary Club meeting, Assistant City Manager Frank Comeriato presented details on the plan. The city has no plans to serve residents but once business services are in place, they may consider a residential build out. The gigabit network, to be owned and operated by the city of Hudson, will be deployed incrementally. Incumbents Time Warner Cable and Windstream serve local businesses but a majority complain of unreliable connections and unaffordable prices in the few places where fiber is available. Earlier this year, the city conducted a survey and businesses responded: ... See How Businesses Responded Here ... Fiber or Fireplace? Study Links FTTH to Increased Housing Prices Wed, August 12, 2015 | Posted by phineas Only one in 11 households in the United States have fiber-to-the-home (FTTH ) subscriptions, according to a 2014 Broadband Communities primer , but that might begin to change as more and more studies show the economic benefits of fiber. Most recently, the Fiber To The Home Council Americas funded a study in conjunction with the University of Colorado and Carnegie Mellon that showed a fiber dividend of $5,437 on a $175,000 home . Fierce Telecom reported on the results: The boost to the value of a typical home ? $5,437 ? is roughly equivalent to adding a fireplace, half of a bathroom or a quarter of a swimming pool to the home. The results of the study, which compared roughly 500,000 housing prices over the course of two years, have made their rounds on the Internet, even receiving coverage in the Wall Street Journal . It builds upon a small, but growing, body of research that links fiber deployments in homes and multiple dwelling units (MDU s) to economic growth. ... Read our Full Coverage Here ... Sun Prairie Passes Resolution to Begin Initial Stage of Fiber Project Fri, August 14, 2015 | Posted by phineas On July 21, the City Council of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin passed a resolution to fund construction on a segment of what could become a citywide, high-speed fiber optic project . Construction will take place in the city?s Smith?s Crossing subdivision, parts of Main Street, and the Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District 9/St. Mary?s development area. It is slated to begin in early September and last through December 1, weather permitting, and will cost an estimated $640,000. The mayor of Sun Prairie, Paul Esser, believes that going through with this project is the correct move for the City. He was recently quoted in the Sun Prairie Star : Moving ahead with the pilot project in Smith?s Crossing is the right way to go. I believe that as an early adopter of this technology we will have an economic development advantage which will attract companies that require this broad bandwidth . ... Read More About Sun Prairie's Approach Here ... Carl Junction Pulls Out of Public Private Partnership Mon, August 10, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez In the spring, we reported on a public private partnership agreement between the community of Carl Junction and Wi-Fi provider Aire Fiber. According to City Administrator, Steve Lawver, the City Council had second thoughts and pulled out of the deal. Even though the partnership has ceased to be an option, the people of Carl Junction will still have better connectivity. Aire Fiber found the interest level was so intense that it will independently deploy the equipment to serve the community's 5.6 square miles and approximately 7,400 people. As part of the abandoned partnership agreement, the city would have paid for and provided locations to mount necessary equipment. Aire Fiber would have handled installation, management, and technical aspects needed to keep the network up and running. In exchange, the city would have received 10 percent of the gross revenue from the network. The system would have cost an estimated $400,000 - $450,000 to deploy and both entities estimated just 10 percent of the market would have allowed them to break even. ... Read More Here ... -- You can always find our most recent stories and other resources at http://MuniNetworks.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Community Networks Weekly Updates" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to communitynetworks-weekly+unsubscribe at ilsr.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/a/ilsr.org/d/optout. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From szsherm at yahoo.com Thu Aug 20 12:00:03 2015 From: szsherm at yahoo.com (Shneor Sherman) Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2015 12:00:03 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Why is the Internet slow and costly in the U.S.? Message-ID: <1440097203.46487.YahooMailBasic@web161705.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Excellent article on how we got here, with comparisons to other countries (Sout Korea, gigabit at less that $40/month, for example). See windowssecrets.com, Shneor Sherman From rob at omsoft.com Fri Aug 21 09:45:34 2015 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2015 09:45:34 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] MRIC + VOTE Message-ID: <55D755AE.2080204@omsoft.com> Hi 1) So does anyone know the Mace Ranch Innovation Center developer folks? We need to get them on board with our plan, and we need to beware a business only or non open access fiber deployment. We want a municipal-owned, open access network. There are already fiber optic connections available for businesses, at an outrageous rate, if you are not an ATT on net building, at a better rate if your are on net, but very available. http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/could-davis-get-fiber-optics-through-innovation-center/ 2) Please VOTE for your preference for our group's organization on the ORG Structure board at www.trello.com/davisgig Go there, click Boards in the upper left, select Org Structure, and vote up the card you agree with. There are 3 cards with different options. Pick the one you want and click VOTE. Add a new card with a new option if you like. Important thing is, is to get a clearer idea of the consensus of the group for our organization structure. Its time to start dispensing funds so its really needed. Thanks Folks! - Rob Nickerson CEO Om Networks UCD Class of 96 C: 530-848-3865 If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or yelp.com . Please like us on Facebook . and put us in your circle at Google+ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From steve at dcn.org Fri Aug 21 11:04:18 2015 From: steve at dcn.org (Steve McMahon) Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2015 11:04:18 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] MRIC + VOTE In-Reply-To: <55D755AE.2080204@omsoft.com> References: <55D755AE.2080204@omsoft.com> Message-ID: The San Leandro model discussed in the MRIC is just an arrangement to allow municipal conduit to be used for a fiber "ring" to connect major business parks. http://litsanleandro.com/what-its-about/faq-frequently-asked-questions/. It is not FTTH or anything remotely like this. We need to impress on the economic development folks that the lack of FTTH will inevitably limit the attractiveness of Davis to the kind of businesses they want to attract, as research employees will want high-connectivity housing. On Fri, Aug 21, 2015 at 9:45 AM, Robert Nickerson wrote: > Hi > > 1) So does anyone know the Mace Ranch Innovation Center developer folks? > We need to get them on board with our plan, and we need to beware a > business only or non open access fiber deployment. We want a > municipal-owned, open access network. There are already fiber optic > connections available for businesses, at an outrageous rate, if you are not > an ATT on net building, at a better rate if your are on net, but very > available. > > > http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/could-davis-get-fiber-optics-through-innovation-center/ > > 2) Please VOTE for your preference for our group's organization on the ORG > Structure board at www.trello.com/davisgig > > Go there, click Boards in the upper left, select Org Structure, and vote > up the card you agree with. > There are 3 cards with different options. Pick the one you want and click > VOTE. Add a new card with a new option if you like. > > Important thing is, is to get a clearer idea of the consensus of the group > for our organization structure. Its time to start dispensing funds so its > really needed. > > Thanks Folks! > > - > Rob Nickerson > > CEO > Om Networks > UCD Class of 96 > C: 530-848-3865 > > If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good > recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or > yelp.com . > Please like us on Facebook > . and put us in your > circle at Google+ > > _______________________________________________ > > Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts: > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start > > Davisgig mailing list > Davisgig at list.omsoft.com > http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at omsoft.com Sat Aug 22 12:27:57 2015 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Sat, 22 Aug 2015 12:27:57 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Lunchtime talk about Municipal Fiber Deployments In-Reply-To: References: <2A07CA61-59E1-468C-92BB-F216ACD51D68@me.com> <55D7B2F5.7090808@omsoft.com> <42D729B6-A240-4F57-8BB1-4D371AC10B85@me.com> <55D7C2F0.6050503@omsoft.com> Message-ID: <55D8CD3D.1080307@omsoft.com> Hi ALL We are having Bruce Greene, a senior sales manager from fujitsu network communications come talk to our group. FNC, a subsidiary of Japenesee elctronics giant, Fujitsu, has spent the last decade building out municipal-owned fiber optic networks. Fujitsu is one of the leading makers of the Optical Network Conentrators (ONC), the gear that sits in the centrall office or network exchange. FNC builds and deploys these networks with their gear. Their last project was Taos, New Mexico. http://www.bbcmag.com/2015mags/May_June/BBC_May15_KitCarson.pdf He is flying in to talk to a small round table about their experiences, challenges, and otherwise building fiber networks out for cities. He also provided me with a generic proposal they have to cities that he will base his talk around. I can share a copy of the proposal if you are interested. It is Friday Sept 4th from 11-1. There will be 8-10 people I think, pretty intimate, so a good chance for community leaders to talk directly with someone who has worked directly in this area for some years. I hope that 2-3 people from City of Davis will attend, if you want a seat at the table, please email me ASAP. Venue, TBD Thanks RAN -- Rob Nickerson CEO Om Networks UCD Class of 96 C: 530-848-3865 If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or yelp.com . Please like us on Facebook . and put us in your circle at Google+ From christopher at newrules.org Thu Aug 27 06:56:32 2015 From: christopher at newrules.org (Christopher Mitchell) Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2015 08:56:32 -0500 Subject: [Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks... Week of 8/26 Message-ID: *Recent Stories from MuniNetworks.org - a project of the * *Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Instructions for unsubscribing appear at bottom. Send feedback. Forward Widely.* *We were saddened at the passing of Scott DeGarmo and have republished the fitting words of Jim Baller. * Gig City Wilson Helps Local Companies Thrive Mon, August 17, 2015 | Posted by Catharine Rice The story of how Wilson's municipal fiber network, Greenlight, won over one of its strongest critics illustrates how community networks support and benefit local businesses. Tina Mooring is the Manager of Computer Central in Wilson and was an opponent of the city building a fiber optic network to provide a choice beyond the incumbent cable and DSL companies, both of which were national carriers. "We were fearful," says Mooring, when asked about her feelings when the City of Wilson first announced its plan to build out a community-wide fiber to the home network. Reselling DSL connections leased from the incumbent telephone company was Computer Central's bread and butter. "We repaired computers and we resold DSL...and we were supposed to take a ?leap of faith' that the City did not want to put us out of business." Mooring was outspoken in her belief that Wilson was taking the wrong step. ... Read More on How Wilson Created More Business Opportunities for Computer Central ... More Details on the Northwest Open Access Network - Community Broadband Bits Episode 164 Tue, August 18, 2015 | Posted by christopher Just a few short weeks ago, we interviewed Dave Spencer, the Chief Operating Officer for the Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) in Washington. We offered a good overview, but got some requests for more details so Dave returns this week for a more focused discussion in episode 164. We discuss the specific services that are available and how the retail service providers access them as well as NoaNet's enlightening approach to peering so its service providers have the benefits of low cost, high quality Netflix videos, as an example. We also discuss the legal status of NoaNet as a nonprofit municipal organization. Finally, we discuss the other services that NoaNet makes available and how some of the fees are structured. ... Listen to the Show Here ... Baltimore for Broadband Op-Ed Demands Local Authority Wed, August 19, 2015 | Posted by phineas On July 27 an important op-ed appeared in the Baltimore Sun to argue for the creation of a Baltimore Broadband Authority (BBA). Written by a cohort of three philanthropic organization presidents, two consultants, one broadband coalition leader, and one state senator, the op-ed echoed the calls of Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and community groups, such as the Baltimore Broadband CrowdFiber initiative , who believe that in order for Baltimore to continue its development into a haven for young people, minimize pernicious digital inequalities, and ensure economic growth, the City must take charge of its fiber assets. As the authors wrote: We urge the city of Baltimore to move quickly, but carefully, to create the much-needed Broadband Authority and act with all deliberate speed to devise a comprehensive, workable plan to move us forward. ... Read on for More Baltimore Background ... Murfreesboro Wants to Use Existing Fiber for Better Connectivity Thu, August 20, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez In the center of Tennessee sits Murfreesboro , the fastest growing city in the state with 108,000 people and one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. (Just 10 years ago there were only 68,000 residents.) Murfreesboro is also one of the next communities to show an interest in a publicly owned fiber network to improve connectivity. In an August press release [PDF] , Murfreesboro Electric Department (MED) described their existing 19-mile fiber infrastructure, used for communication and control purposes for the electricity distribution system. The fiber was deployed in 2008, says MED General Manager Steve Sax, and the utility is now making plans to use spare fibers for Internet connectivity. MED is in the process of expanding its network by an additional 20 miles. ... Yet Another Tennessee Muni Approach ... Traffic Project Gets Fiber in the Ground in Winston-Salem, NC Tue, August 18, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez Winston-Salem struck up a smart deal with the North Carolina Department of Transportation in 2011. Four years later, that agreement allows the city to move forward with its vision for an I-Net . The Winston-Salem Journal reports that the City Council recently approved $826,522 for networking equipment to light up city owned fiber installed by the NCDOT. The agency has been upgrading area traffic control systems, a project estimated at around $20 million. Winston-Salem took advantage of the opportunity and paid the agency $1.5 million to simultaneously install its own fiber in the state conduit . ... More Details on This Approach in North Carolina ... New Reference From U-W Extension A Library Must-Have Wed, August 19, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez The University of Wisconsin-Extension recently released *Broadband Policies and Regulations for Wisconsin Stakeholders*, a good addition to your digital library, especially if you have in interest in Wisconsin and midwestern broadband issues. The document provides case studies and an in-depth list of references addressing: - Public-private partnerships - Local ordinances - Technology councils - Community engagement - Local government telecommunications services - Unique efforts to increase adoption ... More Details Here ... Nebraska Farmer Wants Fiber, Won't Be Ripped Off By Windstream Sat, August 22, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez Windstream has the distinction of being one of the worst providers we have ever covered from consumers' perspective , but in rural areas many people have little or no choice. The latest Windstream debacle involves a Nebraska farmer, an outrageous price quote, and a local company that is taking on the project for about one-ninth of Windstream's estimate. Ars Technica recently introduced us to Nelson Schneider, CTO of the Norman R. Schneider Family Trust Farm in Ceresco, Nebraska. Like many other farms today, the Schneider business needs fast, reliable connections for a variety of reasons including checking ever changing grain prices. Schneider had Windstream's DSL for $80 per month, but his promised speeds of 1.5 Mbps were clocked at 512 Kbps download and 256 Kbps upload , making business online impossible. ... Yet Another in the Long Line of Horror Stories Involving Windstream ... Bald Head Island Reopens RFP to Find The Right Partner Fri, August 21, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez After searching for a suitable partner , the Village of Bald Head Island in North Carolina has reopened its RFP for a gigabit fiber network. Apparently, the community received four responses but no proposal provided the level of detail they require. In order to give respondents another opportunity and to offer new candidates a chance, Bald Head Island leaders chose to release the RFP a second time with additional questions and a responsibility matrix. No response will be considered without answers to these new appendices. All three documents are available on the Village website . ... Read the Rest Here ... -- You can always find our most recent stories and other resources at http://MuniNetworks.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Community Networks Weekly Updates" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to communitynetworks-weekly+unsubscribe at ilsr.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/a/ilsr.org/d/optout. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at omsoft.com Sat Aug 29 13:01:48 2015 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2015 13:01:48 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Lawn Signs Message-ID: <55E20FAC.10807@omsoft.com> Hi All Corrugated Plastic Lawn signs are an important part of DavisGIG Public Outreach and generating community support for the project. People will see the logo, and URL, ask about it, support it, and that will help us grow I'll be printing 20-25 for the first run. These will all be with the logo, URL, and then a simple statement. Like people have suggested "What is..." and "Good for Me. Good for Davis..." Another version will come later, the "ask me about..." They will be available for a $20 suggested donation So, after surveying 4 or so local companies to print lawn signs, it seems like InkMonkey is offering the best prices. I'm specifically looking for feedback on the brief text, single vs double sided. Going with full color. If anyone has any desire to chime in one way or another the card is here: https://trello.com/c/2qYHaobJ or you can email a comment davisgig+55721c2224cc6890de0dab67+55c3cfca8e87df662b93db03+a9392548deda7127f61756ed4f66809f88889574 at boards.trello.com Thanks DavisGIG community! -- Rob Nickerson CEO Om Networks UCD Class of 96 C: 530-848-3865 If we have helped you in a positive way, please give us a good recommendation at daviswiki.org , and/or yelp.com . Please like us on Facebook . and put us in your circle at Google+ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: