[Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks... Week of 1/27

[Christopher Mitchell]

*Recent Stories from MuniNetworks.org - a project of the Institute for
Local Self-Reliance. Instructions for unsubscribing appear at bottom.  Send
feedback.  Forward Widely.*

*Got Social Media?  Please use it to support local choice - here is how
<https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/21222-local-internet-choice?locale=en>!*

*We'll be talking about Community Networks and Local Choice in Austin in
April!  We got a deal for you to attend
<http://muninetworks.org/content/clic-presents-special-pre-conference-event-2015-broadband-summit-austin>!
*


Ting Delivering FTTH Is Great News for Community Fiber - Community
Broadband Bits Episode 134
<http://muninetworks.org/content/ting-delivering-ftth-great-news-community-fiber-community-broadband-bits-episode-134>
Tue, January 20, 2015 | Posted by christopher
<http://muninetworks.org/users/christopher>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/ting-delivering-ftth-great-news-community-fiber-community-broadband-bits-episode-134>

In recent weeks, we have been excited to see announcements from Ting
<http://ting.com/>, a company long known for being a great wireless
provider (both Lisa and I are customers), that is now getting into FTTH
<http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term13> deployments. The first announcement
was from Charlottesville
<http://www.muninetworks.org/content/ting-offer-fiber-internet-service-charlottesville>
where
it acquired another company. Last week theyannounced a partnership with
Westminster, Maryland
<http://www.muninetworks.org/content/gigabit-muni-fiber-partnership-westminster-and-ting>
.

This week we interview Elliot Noss, CEO of Tucows <http://www.tucows.com/>,
which is the parent of Ting. Elliot has long been active in preserving and
expanding the open Internet.

We discuss many issues from Ting's success in wireless to cities dealing
with permitting and access in rights-of-way to Ting's willingness and
enthusiasm to operate on municipal fiber open access
<http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term625>networks. We finish with some
musings on upcoming over the top video technologies like SlingTV from Dish.

... Listen to the Show or Read the Transcript Here ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/ting-delivering-ftth-great-news-community-fiber-community-broadband-bits-episode-134>
Most Municipal Networks Built in Conservative Cities
<http://muninetworks.org/content/most-municipal-networks-built-conservative-cities>
Tue, January 20, 2015 | Posted by christopher
<http://muninetworks.org/users/christopher>

We've been curious about voting patterns from communities that have built
their own networks so we took our community broadband networks map
<http://muninetworks.org/communitymap> and analyzed some election data. A
substantial majority of communities that have built their own networks vote
Republican.

We decided to stick with the citywide networks, where a community has taken
the greatest risk in building a citywide FTTH
<http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term13> or cable network. This gave us
more than 100 communities to analyze. We looked at the Presidential
elections from 2008 and 2012 as well as the House election from 2012. This
was to guard against any anomalies from a single election or type of
election.

[image: Municipal network voting patterns]

Some 3 out of 4 communities have voted Republican in recent elections, a
trend that has become more pronounced across these elections. And as
elections in non-presidential years tend to skew more conservative, we
would expect the results to show an even greater trend toward voting for
Republicans.

... More Details here ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/most-municipal-networks-built-conservative-cities>
Maine Legislature All About That Broadband in 2015
<http://muninetworks.org/content/maine-legislature-all-about-broadband-2015>
Thu, January 22, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez
<http://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/maine-legislature-all-about-broadband-2015>

Maine continues to be a hot spot in the drive to improve connectivity as
the 2015 state legislative session opens. According to the Bangor Daily News
<https://bangordailynews.com/2015/01/15/business/maine-officials-search-for-ways-to-slingshot-state-from-back-of-pack-on-internet-speed/>,
35 bills have been introduced that deal with broadband issues.

The story also notes that several lawmakers have introduced bills that
propose funding from the state. House Republican Norman Higgins
<http://mehousegop.org/reps-l-p/norm-higgins/> advocates broadband
infrastructure in rural areas of the state:

“I think most people understand that in this day and age for us to be
competitive, that’s one of the necessary tools,” Higgins said, noting he’s
found bipartisan support on the issue. “The question, I think becomes: How
do we do it? And who does it?”

He proposes allocating millions of dollars to expand the availability of grants
to municipalities
<http://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/bills_127th/billtexts/HP006201.asp>
that
want to build and own high-speed fiber-optic
<http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term10> networks that would be open to
companies that want to serve businesses and homes, similar to the model
pursued by Rockport, South Portland, Orono and Old Town.

... We are Excited to see What Happens in Maine! ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/maine-legislature-all-about-broadband-2015>

New Article on Economic Development and Fiber: "The Killer App for Local
Fiber Networks"
<http://muninetworks.org/content/new-article-economic-development-and-fiber-killer-app-local-fiber-networks>
Mon, January 19, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez
<http://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/new-article-economic-development-and-fiber-killer-app-local-fiber-networks>

Time and again, we share economic development stories
<http://www.muninetworks.org/tags-17> from communities that have invested
in fiber networks. A new article
<http://www.bbpmag.com/MuniPortal/EditorsChoice/1114editorschoice.php> by
Jim Baller, Joanne Hovis, and Ashley Stelfox from the Coalition for Local
Internet Choice <http://www.localnetchoice.org/> (CLIC) and Masha
Zager fromBroadband
Communities  <http://www.bbpmag.com/>magazine examines the meaning of
economic development and the connection to fiber infrastructure.

Economists, advocates, and policymakers grapple with how to scientifically
measure the link between the two but:

As Graham Richard, former mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind., observed, “From the
point of view of retaining and gaining jobs, I can give you example after
example [of the impact of broadband]. … What I don’t have is a long term,
double-blind study that says it was just broadband.” But, “as a leader,
sometimes you go with your gut.”

... Read Our Writeup Here ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/new-article-economic-development-and-fiber-killer-app-local-fiber-networks>
Bill to Establish Broadband Grant Program in Montana State Legislature
<http://muninetworks.org/content/bill-establish-broadband-grant-program-montana-state-legislature>
Thu, January 22, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez
<http://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/bill-establish-broadband-grant-program-montana-state-legislature>

In Missoula
<http://www.muninetworks.org/content/missoula-releases-results-broadband-feasibility-study>
 and Bozeman
<http://www.muninetworks.org/content/bozeman-kicks-broadband-planning-effort>,
momentum is building for improved connectivity by way of community network
infrastructure. As usual, funding a municipal network is always one of the
main challenges, but the state appears uninterested in helping them. State
Representative Kelly McCarthy
<http://leg.mt.gov/css/sessions/64th/leg_info.asp?HouseID=0&SessionID=109&LAWSID=15250>
recently
dropped HB 14 <http://leg.mt.gov/bills/2015/BillPdf/HB0014.pdf> into the
hopper, a bill to create a broadband development fund primarily for private
companies.

The bill authorizes $15 million in general obligation bonds
<http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/generalobligationbond.asp> for
broadband infrastructure projects for middle-mile and last-mile
connectivity in rural areas. Unfortunately, projects built and maintained
by private entities have priority per the language of section 3(2)(b).

... A Few More Details Here ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/bill-establish-broadband-grant-program-montana-state-legislature>
Los Angeles Times Supports Local Authority
<http://muninetworks.org/content/los-angeles-times-supports-local-authority>
Fri, January 23, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez
<http://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/los-angeles-times-supports-local-authority>

President Obama's recent appearance in Cedar Falls
<http://www.muninetworks.org/content/national-press-follows-president-obama-cedar-falls-iowa>
infused
adrenaline into the debate about local authority for telecommunications
decisions. As a result, some of the media outlets from large cities are now
coming out in support of local authority. The Editorial Board of the LA
Times published an opinion
<http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-broadband-obama-20150122-story.html>
on
January 21st *supporting the notion of restoring local authority* in states
where laws prevent community decision making.

The Times recognizes that rural areas will benefit most from reversing
these restrictions, that the restrictions need to be removed for us to
compete globally, and that there are numerous municipal networks that are
up to the challenge of improving connectivity. The LA Times also recognizes
the value of public-private partnerships in New York
<http://www.muninetworks.org/content/new-york-medias-metrofocus-talks-chris-about-city-wi-fi>
and
in other places where local government has forged productive relationships
with the private sector.

... Contact Your Local Editorial Board! ...
U.S. Senator Cory Booker Introduces Community Broadband Act
<http://muninetworks.org/content/us-senator-cory-booker-introduces-community-broadband-act>
Thu, January 22, 2015 | Posted by christopher
<http://muninetworks.org/users/christopher>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/us-senator-cory-booker-introduces-community-broadband-act>

Senator Booker has taken the lead in introducing the Community Broadband
Act to the U.S. Senate along with Senators McCaskill and Markey. We are
thankful for their leadership on the issue. As part of their announcement
<http://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=190>, they included the
following statements:

“As Mayor of Newark, I saw firsthand the value of empowering local
communities to invest and innovate. The Community Broadband Act provides
cities the flexibility they need to meet the needs of their residents,”
Sen. Booker said. “This legislation will enhance economic development,
improve access to education and health care services, and provide increased
opportunity to individuals in underserved areas. At a time when local
governments are looking for ways to ensure their communities are connected
and have access to advanced and reliable networks, the Community Broadband
Act empowers local governments to respond to this ever-increasing demand.”

... Read More on This News Here ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/us-senator-cory-booker-introduces-community-broadband-act>

Cap Times Weighs In on Mayoral Race, Muni Broadband, and Free Internet: We
Need It!
<http://muninetworks.org/content/cap-times-weighs-mayoral-race-muni-broadband-and-free-internet-we-need-it>
Wed, January 21, 2015 | Posted by lgonzalez
<http://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/cap-times-weighs-mayoral-race-muni-broadband-and-free-internet-we-need-it>

The Madison Cap Times recently ran an editorial
<http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/editorial/madison-mayoral-race-should-be-all-about-big-ideas/article_30c83456-db08-5b52-8c9c-277e389c4fd0.html>
focusing
on the surprising nature of mayoral races. We were also surprised -
pleasantly so - to read the intention of the editorial board (emphasis
ours):

The Capital Times will add its proposals to the mix, with a special focus
on using emerging technologies to promote high-wage job creation and
economic development. *In particular, we'll advocate for the establishment
of a municipal broadband system that can provide free high-speed Internet
access to all Madisonians.*

...

Madison is a great city that does plenty of things right. But it faces
major challenges, some of its own making, some imposed by reactionary state
government, some dictated by our complex times. A mayoral race is the pivot
point at which to discuss those challenges and the proper responses to them.

... Read the Story Here ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/cap-times-weighs-mayoral-race-muni-broadband-and-free-internet-we-need-it>
Community Broadband Media Roundup - January 23
<http://muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-media-roundup-january-23>
Mon, January 26, 2015 | Posted by rebecca
<http://muninetworks.org/users/rebecca>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-media-roundup-january-23>

We continue to see reverberations from President Obama's speaking out in
favor of municipal networks. The presidential nod sparked state lawmakers
to propose bills, news organizations to write editorials
<http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-broadband-obama-20150122-story.html>,
and to give communities a better sense of how they can take action locally.

As Claire Cain Miller with the New York Times wrote
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/upshot/obama-calls-for-more-internet-service-options-for-consumers.html?_r=1&abt=0002&abg=0>
in
her article for “The Upshot”:

“The goal is not to replace the big companies with small, locally run
Internet providers. It is to give people more than one or two options for
buying Internet – and spur everyone, including the incumbents, to offer
more competitive service and pricing.”

Jeff Ward-Bailey reported on Obama’s interest in tech issues
<http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/2015/0120/State-of-the-Union-What-are-Obama-s-views-on-the-biggest-tech-questions>
in
the State of the Union, specifically the laws limiting local deployment of
networks.

... Full Roundup Here ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-media-roundup-january-23>

-- 
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: <http://list.omsoft.com/pipermail/davisgig/attachments/20150127/da374861/attachment.html>