From omrob at omsoft.com Mon Feb 1 22:15:50 2016 From: omrob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2016 22:15:50 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] Missed NSF grant opportunity In-Reply-To: References: <87116818-6563-4C67-8E39-D94E19C81BE8@dcn.davis.ca.us> Message-ID: <56B04996.3030609@omsoft.com> Hi Gary and All Thanks for sharing this. We are a very tech savvy town "taking back" network infrastructure for our community and leasing access to it for IP Access, IPTV, and Content providers to sell services to our citizens. I believe our network will differentiate itself from all these other FTTP projects, because of our specific local circumstances, and our desire to build this infrastructure in an intelligent and forward looking way. As a community network, we should be able to characterize, define and plan for alternative uses with the deployed fiber. This is a good example. As we think about what we would like the network to do, I have edited out the operations page here a bit, with some of the core design elements, I'd like to see in the network. http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=operations Please feel free to look it over and add some suggestions if you think they would be beneficial. See any of you that can make it Wed the 3rd at 6:30pm at Omsoft BTW - It will be pretty chilly so be prepared for that. Thanks RAN On 1/28/2016 10:46 AM, Gary Darling wrote: > Missed NSF opportunity > > I was contacted by the San Diego supercomputer center to collaborate > on an NSF ?Big Data? grant. The topic was on drought and water in the > West. They wanted to utilize information from an interstate web > services network grant that I have gotten from EPA. I had just a > couple of days to submit a letter of intent. I met the deadline > working with the Western States water council and a CS prof at SDSC. > Apparently NSF has awarded big data hub grants around the country in > the West, hub grants were awarded to SDSC, Berkeley CS and University > of Washington CS. I believe that there will be a series of ?spoke? > grants that will be offered soon. Some of these grants will be for > community networks. This would be a perfect opportunity for a place > like Davis. If I end up a collaborator on the NSF project I?ll be able > to effetely monitor this opportunity. > > I had a conversation with city staff on a proposal I was calling > ?sensible Davis? the project would instal a series of sensors across > Davis to help optimize things like water use. For example sprinkler > systems could be given guidance based on weather reports and observed > temperature.This would cut water use without hurting plants. Staff > liked the idea, but once Davis GIG came up it became clear that > telemetry should be bundled in with what would become a DCN 2.0 that > would consider implications of much faster communications and the > social and technical implications of ubiquitous inexpensive sensors > connected to that network. Future grant funding will depend on us > coming up with innovative ways to use networks we should include new > applications in the davis gig work. > > > http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2016/nsf16510/nsf16510.htm > > > > > ?Gary > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 Feb 2 09:36:06 2016 From: christopher at newrules.org (Christopher Mitchell) Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2016 11:36:06 -0600 Subject: [Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks... Week of 2/2 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.* Missouri Legislature Off to Another Anti-Muni Session: Pick Up Your Phone and Call! Wed, January 27, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez If you pay attention to state laws affecting municipal networks in Missouri, you are experiencing an unsettling feeling of deja vu right now. On January 7,Representative Lyndall Fraker introduced HB 2078 , a bill much like last year's Senate anti-muni bill . Fraker is Chair of the House Utility Infrastructure Committee, where the bill is now awaiting a hearing, so it has a good chance of being heard sooner rather than later. *Preventing Partnerships to Maintain The Status Quo* This bill would not only make it extremely difficult for local communities to invest in publicly owned Internet networks, but would complicate and delay public-private partnerships. A number of communities across the country already own infrastructure and are exploring ways to partner with private providers who want to use it to serve schools, businesses, and residents. If a community wants to lower telecommunications costs or obtain better services, this legislation would have them first jump through a series of obscure, expensive, and cryptic hoops. This legislation creates barriers that serve no purpose except to erect hurdles that discourage local communities from finding better providers. ... Read our Alert on this Bill Here ... Shoot-Out Over the WiredWest: MBI Pulls Funding in Massachusetts Saga Wed, January 27, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Officials from WiredWest Communications Cooperative in western Massachusetts spent years working with small towns creating a collaborative plan to develop a regional fiber network. The deadline for participation was, January 9th, a little more than a month away, and even though the trail had been thorny, the path now seemed clear. Suddenly, the state revoked critical funding, sending the carefully planned and negotiated project into shambles. *WiredWest Coop Born, Reborn, Ready to Ride* More than five years ago, a group of small towns in Western Massachusetts formed a communications cooperative that evolved into the WiredWest Communications Cooperative Corporation . Their goal was similar to that of any cooperative organization: use the collective resources of the member towns to construct a much needed utility - a fiber-to-the-home network (FTTH ) - that could address a persistent problem for a group rural communities - the lack of quality Internet access. ... Read on for Background on How WiredWest and MBI Came to this Point ... Why Schools Need Big Bandwidth - Community Broadband Bits Episode 186 Tue, January 26, 2016 | Posted by christopher The St Vrain Valley School District, north of Denver and including the Longmont area, is transitioning from a shared gigabit network to dedicated 10 Gbps links for schools. Just what does it do with all that bandwidth ? School District Chief Technology Officer Joe McBreen tells us this week in Community Broadband Bits podcast episode 186. We talk about why the need for so much bandwidth and the incredible savings the school district has received from the municipal fiber network. Additionally, we discuss how self-provisioning would have been the second more cost-effective solution, far better than leasing lines from an existing provider. Toward the end of our conversation, we touch on how students get access in their homes and what any business or manager needs to do to be successful, regardless of what industry he or she is in. See our other stories about Longmont here. ... Listen to the Show Here ... The transcript from this episode is available here ... Hanover, New Hampshire, Taps New State Law for Network Mon, January 25, 2016 | Posted by Scott The town of Hanover, New Hampshire (pop. 11,500), is considering building its own municipal fiber-to-the-home (FTTH ) network following the enactment of a new state law that makes it easier for communities to take on such projects. Under the new state law (Chapter 240, HB486-Final Version), New Hampshire towns and cities can now establish special assessment districts to finance telecommunications infrastructure, expanding a long-standing statute. Specifically, the law now includes ?communication infrastructure? as among the types of ?public facilities? for which a special assessment district can be formed. Under the expanded law, communities can finance fiber optic networks by billing individuals who reside within the district for a prorated share of the cost of installing that communication infrastructure. ... Read our Full Coverage of this Important Development ... Solon Set to Save in Ohio: Big Plans for I-Net Thu, January 28, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Solon , located in Ohio's northeast corner, is looking to save approximately $65,280 per year with a publicly owned fiber institutional network (I-Net). At the January 19 city council, an ordinance authorizing the Director of Finance to request bids for the project passed unanimously . Cleveland.com recently reported that the city council is considering ditching its contract with Time Warner Cable as the city moves forward with a traffic signal project. The project would require streets to be excavated all over the community, a perfect time to install fiber connecting 8 municipal facilities. The publicly-owned network will connect buildings such as the Solon Senior Center, the Solon Community Center, and three city fire stations. The traffic signal project will cost $5 million and is funded in a large part by a combination of state and federal grants with the city contributing approximately twenty percent of the total cost. ... Read our Full Story Here ... Steamboat Springs Gets a Grant for Fiber for the Future Fri, January 29, 2016 | Posted by hannah Last we checked in with Steamboat Springs they had just finished a connectivity project. Now the community is taking another step to improve local connectivity in this northwest Colorado ski resort town. The goal is to connect large community anchor institutions throughout town with a fiber backbone which could become the basis for a larger network. Several community anchor institutions have pooled their resources and pledged $748,000 while also securing a matching grant to install 9 miles of fiber across the small town of 12,000. Funding is in place, but the agreement between the institutions must be finalized before sending out an official request for proposals to find a company to install the fiber. *Matching Grants & Community Connectivity* The Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) intends to match the community?s contributions towards the project. DOLA will provide $748,000 in grant money for the fiber backbone. According to Routt County Manager Tom Sullivan in Steamboat Today , the fiber design will have splice points to allow a private providers to provide last-mile connectivity to residents? homes and businesses from the fiber backbone. ... More Interesting Developments from Colorado Ski Country here ... Are You From Tennessee? Your Opinion Matters! Tue, January 26, 2016 | Posted by hannah For the past several months, we have covered the plight of North Carolina and Tennessee. These states have passed laws that prohibit local governments from expanding beyond their municipal electric utility service area to bring better connectivity to neighboring communities. Even though nearby towns ask places like Chattanooga or Tullahoma to provide services, they are prevented from doing so. Today we bring to you this news story from Anderson County, Tennessee. Local officials are encouraging residents to tell the state about their horrible connectivity. With a bill in the state legislature to remove the restriction and the state embroiled in a court case to challenge the FCC's decision to roll back the state barrier, local governments are using the survey to connect people with lawmakers. ... See the Rest of the Story and Video ... #RightToConnect Twitter Town Hall Archive Now Available Sun, January 31, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez If you were not able to attend the #RightToConnect Twitter Town Hall on January 21st, you are in luck. The good folks at the Center for Media Justice campaign have collected some of the most memorable moments at Storify . In addition to tweets from moderator W. Kamau Bell, memorable tweets from elected officials such as FCC's Jessica Rosenworcel, Mignon Clyburn, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders are on file to view. You can also link to stories of participants captured on video and audio and check out research material from organizers and participants. ... Listen to the Story Here ... Community Broadband Media Roundup - February 1 Mon, February 01, 2016 | Posted by Nick *Iowa* Mediacom sues to stop Iowa City municipal fiber build by Karl Bode, DSL Reports *Kentucky* Some telecoms, anti-government groups oppose new state broadband network by Tom Eblen, The Lexington Herald Leader ... Read the Full Community Broadband Network Media Roundup 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 Tue Feb 2 21:54:28 2016 From: rob at omsoft.com (rob) Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2016 21:54:28 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] 80 Thz of new spectrum to work with over optical fiber. Message-ID: Bring it on. http://phys.org/news/2016-02-frontiers.html MEETING TOMORROW 6:30 PM Omsoft It gets pretty cold in the warehouse. 1) Finalize a rep to be on the task force. 2) Discuss network design elements 3) Figure out how to crowd source funds to pay FSR. Thanks RAN From gary_darling at sbcglobal.net Wed Feb 3 16:01:08 2016 From: gary_darling at sbcglobal.net (Gary Darling) Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2016 16:01:08 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] Missed NSF grant opportunity In-Reply-To: <56B04996.3030609@omsoft.com> References: <87116818-6563-4C67-8E39-D94E19C81BE8@dcn.davis.ca.us> <56B04996.3030609@omsoft.com> Message-ID: Rob, I liked your bullet list: ? enhanced infrastructure ? increased customer choice ? debundled services ? network neutrality ? bandwidth caps - removing ? design customized to local needs ? local spending, local taxes ? better connectivity options for low income people ? improved connectivity for local schools and libaries ? local netflix cache ? possibly reducing need for additional cell towers ? municipal emergency notification system ? municipal smartgrid in concert with UC Davis who are pursuing this through their Utilities dept. ? parity between upload and download bandwidth Some other items that you might consider: ? Enhanced Privacy ? Parallel community computing On the cell phone tower issue, as 5G rolls out I think we will have more not fewer cell towers that serve a smaller radius to allow for better use of bandwidth and faster mobile connectivity as 5G specifies. If we are going to put in fiber, now would be a good time to work with the telcos to lay out a clean multivendor cell phone tower plan. Smaller cells would also mean lower power connections. This might acquit the cocearns of those in town that live next to relatively high power cell phone towers worried about health effects. We have not really discussed WiFi and it seems out of scope but crowded 2.4 GH channels are already a problem in Davis - especially in apartment buildings. I guess that the tech savvy can go for dual band routers but this seems a short term fix. As the internet of things progresses there are going to be more things on the Internet and more crowded WiFi channels. ?Gary > On Feb 1, 2016, at 10:15 PM, Robert Nickerson wrote: > > Hi Gary and All > > Thanks for sharing this. > > We are a very tech savvy town "taking back" network infrastructure for our community and leasing access to it for IP Access, IPTV, and Content providers to sell services to our citizens. I believe our network will differentiate itself from all these other FTTP projects, because of our specific local circumstances, and our desire to build this infrastructure in an intelligent and forward looking way. > > As a community network, we should be able to characterize, define and plan for alternative uses with the deployed fiber. This is a good example. > > As we think about what we would like the network to do, I have edited out the operations page here a bit, with some of the core design elements, I'd like to see in the network. > > http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=operations > > Please feel free to look it over and add some suggestions if you think they would be beneficial. > > See any of you that can make it Wed the 3rd at 6:30pm at Omsoft > > BTW - It will be pretty chilly so be prepared for that. > > Thanks > RAN > > > On 1/28/2016 10:46 AM, Gary Darling wrote: >> Missed NSF opportunity >> >> I was contacted by the San Diego supercomputer center to collaborate on an NSF ?Big Data? grant. The topic was on drought and water in the West. They wanted to utilize information from an interstate web services network grant that I have gotten from EPA. I had just a couple of days to submit a letter of intent. I met the deadline working with the Western States water council and a CS prof at SDSC. Apparently NSF has awarded big data hub grants around the country in the West, hub grants were awarded to SDSC, Berkeley CS and University of Washington CS. I believe that there will be a series of ?spoke? grants that will be offered soon. Some of these grants will be for community networks. This would be a perfect opportunity for a place like Davis. If I end up a collaborator on the NSF project I?ll be able to effetely monitor this opportunity. >> >> I had a conversation with city staff on a proposal I was calling ?sensible Davis? the project would instal a series of sensors across Davis to help optimize things like water use. For example sprinkler systems could be given guidance based on weather reports and observed temperature.This would cut water use without hurting plants. Staff liked the idea, but once Davis GIG came up it became clear that telemetry should be bundled in with what would become a DCN 2.0 that would consider implications of much faster communications and the social and technical implications of ubiquitous inexpensive sensors connected to that network. Future grant funding will depend on us coming up with innovative ways to use networks we should include new applications in the davis gig work. >> >> >> http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2016/nsf16510/nsf16510.htm >> >> >> >> >> ?Gary >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> 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 From steve at dcn.org Wed Feb 3 16:17:01 2016 From: steve at dcn.org (Steve McMahon) Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2016 16:17:01 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] Meeting tonight: 6:30pm, Omsoft Message-ID: Just a quick reminder: our meeting is tonight, 6:30pm at Omsoft, 1930 5th St suite C. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at omsoft.com Wed Feb 3 17:32:17 2016 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2016 17:32:17 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] Missed NSF grant opportunity In-Reply-To: References: <87116818-6563-4C67-8E39-D94E19C81BE8@dcn.davis.ca.us> <56B04996.3030609@omsoft.com> Message-ID: <56B2AA21.40900@omsoft.com> Hi Great, that list was actually made by someone else last year in the very early days of this wiki. Just want to give credit where its due. RAN On 2/3/2016 4:01 PM, Gary Darling wrote: > Rob, > > I liked your bullet list: > > ? enhanced infrastructure > ? increased customer choice > ? debundled services > ? network neutrality > ? bandwidth caps - removing > ? design customized to local needs > ? local spending, local taxes > ? better connectivity options for low income people > ? improved connectivity for local schools and libaries > ? local netflix cache > ? possibly reducing need for additional cell towers > ? municipal emergency notification system > ? municipal smartgrid in concert with UC Davis who are pursuing this through their Utilities dept. > ? parity between upload and download bandwidth > > > Some other items that you might consider: > > ? Enhanced Privacy > ? Parallel community computing > > On the cell phone tower issue, as 5G rolls out I think we will have more not fewer cell towers that serve a smaller radius to allow for better use of bandwidth and faster mobile connectivity as 5G specifies. If we are going to put in fiber, now would be a good time to work with the telcos to lay out a clean multivendor cell phone tower plan. Smaller cells would also mean lower power connections. This might acquit the cocearns of those in town that live next to relatively high power cell phone towers worried about health effects. > > We have not really discussed WiFi and it seems out of scope but crowded 2.4 GH channels are already a problem in Davis - especially in apartment buildings. I guess that the tech savvy can go for dual band routers but this seems a short term fix. As the internet of things progresses there are going to be more things on the Internet and more crowded WiFi channels. > > > ?Gary > > > > > >> On Feb 1, 2016, at 10:15 PM, Robert Nickerson wrote: >> >> Hi Gary and All >> >> Thanks for sharing this. >> >> We are a very tech savvy town "taking back" network infrastructure for our community and leasing access to it for IP Access, IPTV, and Content providers to sell services to our citizens. I believe our network will differentiate itself from all these other FTTP projects, because of our specific local circumstances, and our desire to build this infrastructure in an intelligent and forward looking way. >> >> As a community network, we should be able to characterize, define and plan for alternative uses with the deployed fiber. This is a good example. >> >> As we think about what we would like the network to do, I have edited out the operations page here a bit, with some of the core design elements, I'd like to see in the network. >> >> http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=operations >> >> Please feel free to look it over and add some suggestions if you think they would be beneficial. >> >> See any of you that can make it Wed the 3rd at 6:30pm at Omsoft >> >> BTW - It will be pretty chilly so be prepared for that. >> >> Thanks >> RAN >> >> >> On 1/28/2016 10:46 AM, Gary Darling wrote: >>> Missed NSF opportunity >>> >>> I was contacted by the San Diego supercomputer center to collaborate on an NSF ?Big Data? grant. The topic was on drought and water in the West. They wanted to utilize information from an interstate web services network grant that I have gotten from EPA. I had just a couple of days to submit a letter of intent. I met the deadline working with the Western States water council and a CS prof at SDSC. Apparently NSF has awarded big data hub grants around the country in the West, hub grants were awarded to SDSC, Berkeley CS and University of Washington CS. I believe that there will be a series of ?spoke? grants that will be offered soon. Some of these grants will be for community networks. This would be a perfect opportunity for a place like Davis. If I end up a collaborator on the NSF project I?ll be able to effetely monitor this opportunity. >>> >>> I had a conversation with city staff on a proposal I was calling ?sensible Davis? the project would instal a series of sensors across Davis to help optimize things like water use. For example sprinkler systems could be given guidance based on weather reports and observed temperature.This would cut water use without hurting plants. Staff liked the idea, but once Davis GIG came up it became clear that telemetry should be bundled in with what would become a DCN 2.0 that would consider implications of much faster communications and the social and technical implications of ubiquitous inexpensive sensors connected to that network. Future grant funding will depend on us coming up with innovative ways to use networks we should include new applications in the davis gig work. >>> >>> >>> http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2016/nsf16510/nsf16510.htm >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ?Gary >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> >>> 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 > _______________________________________________ > > 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 Feb 9 11:51:04 2016 From: christopher at newrules.org (Christopher Mitchell) Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2016 13:51:04 -0600 Subject: [Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks ... Week of 2/9 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.* St. Louis Park And Developers Ready The Wires Wed, February 03, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Community leaders in St. Louis Park, Minnesota , are taking advantage of growth in apartment and condominium developments to "till the soil" for better residential connectivity. One of the smartest things a community can do to improve connectivity is prepare an environment that encourages high-speed connectivity infrastructure investment. As developers erect new buildings, the city is working with them to develop internal wiring standards and conduit installation standards for high-quality Internet access within and to their buildings. *Developers Understand The Value* The city of approximately 45,000, located immediately west of Minneapolis has not adopted any formal building code language, but has negotiated broadband readiness specifications with several new multi-dwelling unit building developers. Savvy developers realize that high-speed connectivity is now a basic utility that tenants demand. ... Read More - We Need More Building Codes Along These Lines ... Andrew Blum Decides to Visit the Internet - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 187 Tue, February 02, 2016 | Posted by christopher We head directly into the Internet this week with Andrew Blum , author of the book *Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet*. We wrote about it when it was published back in 2012. It is as relevant today as then - buy it from your local bookstore. In our discussion, we talk about the physical infrastructure and geography of the Internet. Blum traveled around the planet, seeking out key Internet locations and exploring how the Internet actually works. We discuss peering, the municipal fiber network in The Dalles of Oregon, and how squirrels have cynically targeted last mile vulnerabilities to disrupt household connections. ... Listen to the Show Here ... Fiber-to-the-Home May Be the Cherry on Top in Traverse City Thu, February 04, 2016 | Posted by hannah In Traverse City, Michigan, big plans are underway. The local electric utility is considering constructing a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH ) network for next-generation high-speed Internet access. About 10,000 people call the "Cherry Capital of the World" home. The area primarily relies on tourism and high-speed Internet access can help diversify the local economy. At the moment, Traverse City Light & Power (TCLP) is holding planning meetings with community stakeholders to discuss how to build a network to meet the needs of the community. ... Find the Rest of this Story Emerging from Michigan Here ... Owensboro Residents Flying High On Fiber Pilot Sat, February 06, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Last fall, Owensboro, Kentucky, began constructing its pilot program to bring Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) to a limited number of residents. Construction is complete and now the municipal utility is serving subscribers, much to the delight of folks in the city's Town & County neighborhood. There are 570 households and approximately 1,500 people living in the pilot area. As of late January, 80 households had signed up for service with 15 now being served at a rated of about eight installations completed every week. Chris Poynter, superintendent of Owensboro Municipal Utilities (OMU) telecommunications division reported to the Board that feedback has been positive and that customers have been "?very happy with their speeds and the installation process." ... See the Price Points and More Information about Owensboro Here ... Holding Their Breath in Bradley Tue, February 02, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Cleveland Utilities (CU), serving Bradley County, is carefully searching for the best way to improve connectivity for its southeast Tennessee customers. After exploring a number of possibilities, CU sees a partnership with Chattanooga's EPB as the brightest opportunity but their collaboration rests on lawmakers in Nashville or the U.S. Court of Appeals. *The Need Is There, The Neighbors Are Close* CU President, Ken Webb knows the community needs and wants something better than AT&T for Internet access or cable TV from Charter Spectrum, especially in rural areas. Residents and business owners have gathered at community meetings . Local community leaders have passed resolutions asking the state to roll back restrictions and contacted CU directly but the utility's hands are tied as long as state barriers remain in place. ... Read the Full Story on the Continuing Tennessee Struggle Here ... Seniors, Low-Income, Disabled Communities Pay the Price in St. Paul Mon, February 01, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez For seniors, low-income residents, and the disabled in Saint Paul, Minnesota, a Comcast discount within the city's franchise agreement is not all it was cracked up to be. The Pioneer Press recently reported that, as eligible subscribers seek the ten percent discount guaranteed by the agreement, they are finding the devil is in the details - or lack of them. This is a warning to those who attempt to negotiate with Comcast for better service. Comcast may make deals that it knows are unenforceable. *"No Discount For You!"* For years, Comcast held the only franchise agreement with the city of St. Paul. In 2015, the city entered into a new agreement with the cable provider and, as in the past, the provider agreed to offer discounts for low-income and senior subscribers. Such concessions are common because a franchise agreement gives a provider easy access to a pool of subscribers. ... Read the Full Story for Lessons on Any Deals with Comcast ... Speeds Up, Prices Steady (or Down!) With EC Fiber Fri, February 05, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez The East-Central Vermont Community Fiber-Optic Network (EC Fiber) recentlyannounced plans to increase speeds across tiers with no increase in prices. Changes will look like this: - "Basic" will increase from 7 to 10 Megabits per second (Mbps ) - "Standard" will increase from 20 to 25 Mbps - "Ultra" will double from 50 to 100 - The new "Wicked" plan will increase from 100 to 500 AND will include a price decrease. (Current subscribers to the Wicked tier who pay for 400 Mbps will also get the bump up to 500 Mbps and the price decrease.) All speeds from EC Fiber are symmetrical so both download and upload are equally fast. ... Learn More About This Self-Funded Approach ... Local Media Loves Opelika Gigabit Fiber Network Tue, February 02, 2016 | Posted by hannah We love when community networks are celebrated for their accomplishments and potential. Opelika, Alabama , started to build a network in 2010, and now local news proudly showcases the community as a Gig City. The Fiber-to-the-Home network in Opelika turned out to be a great investment for the community. After five years of work and $43 million, the network now boasts 3,000 customers. With such incredible high-speed Internet access, Opelika hopes to attract new businesses and encourage young people to stay. For more of the history of the network, check out our interview with Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller in Episode 40 of Broadband Bits. ... Watch the Video Here ... Mr. and Mrs. Monopoly Seek Treatment with Competify Wed, February 03, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Check out this new video from the Competify coalition . The short 2-minute feature introduces viewers to Mr. and Mrs. Broadband Monopoly, who are clearly suffering from "chronic broadband access control." *Meet Mr. and Mrs. Broadband Monopoly* Competify focuses on raising awareness about the long term damage caused by lack of high-quality Internet access competition. Our livelihoods suffer when a small number of huge corporate telecommunications providers control connectivity. The coalition provides hard information on how these de facto monopolies and duopolies negatively impact our lives and how a more competitive environment can help. ... Read the Rest of the Statement Here ... Community Broadband Media Roundup - February 8 Mon, February 08, 2016 | Posted by Nick *Tennessee* State House Speaker Harwell expects rural broadband bill delay to next year by Richard Locker, Commercial Appeal Supporters of a bill seeking to allow municipal broadband providers to expand high-speed Internet service to rural areas are calling the measure long overdue by Erik Schelzig, Daily Journal 'AT&T is the villain' in battle over rural broadband access, Republican lawmaker says by Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica ... Read the Full Community Broadband Networks Media Roundup 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 tdkaiser at ucdavis.edu Tue Feb 9 18:07:54 2016 From: tdkaiser at ucdavis.edu (Todd Kaiser) Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2016 18:07:54 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] Buttons and Bumper Stickers Message-ID: Hi Everyone! Is there any interest in having some buttons and bumper stickers made? I'm trying to think of a cool phrase to catch people's attention and start conversations. Any suggestions? We can have 2.25" buttons made by a Buttons 'n Bears in town for $2 each and the cost comes down with bulk orders. I'd be willing to front my own money for a small batch that can be handed out at farmers market. Any interest in printing bumper stickers? Chime in by email or on Trello is so! There's more pricing information on the PR Efforts board. https://trello.com/b/UWrn7sAJ/pr-efforts Best, Todd -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at omsoft.com Thu Feb 11 15:24:29 2016 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:24:29 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] Fwd: Task Force In-Reply-To: <56BB967B.6010702@omsoft.com> References: <56BB967B.6010702@omsoft.com> Message-ID: <56BD182D.5060805@omsoft.com> Hi Folks Here is what I sent to Diane Parro in regards to our selection for the DavisGIG position on the Task Force. At this time, it is unclear as to Chris Clements's status, in regards to what group he will represent, UCD or DavisGIG. Diane responded that a subcommittee of the council will be reviewing/interviewing people for the At large positions, so hopefully some of you applied that way. I also found out that John Paul will be at the first meeting, which is great. He is part of Spiral Internet, and just rec'd CASF funding for building a fiber network in the Grass Valley, Nevada City area. Thanks RAN -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Task Force Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2016 11:58:51 -0800 From: Robert Nickerson To: Diane Parro CC: mike790 at gmail.com, clements at UCDAVIS.EDU Hi Diane Thanks for being staff liason for this Task Force. Here are some people we have selected for representation on the Task Force Davis Community Network - Mike Adams mike790 at gmail.com DavisGIG - our pick for DavisGIG depends on UCD and what choice they make. 1) Chris Clements - unless he is selected by UCD. clements at ucdavis.edu 2) Jeff Mischinsky jmischki at dcn.davis.ca.us Since we are still uncertain about Chris, Jeff should be applying to one of the At Large positions. We support him from a long term community perspective, (resident since 1983), solid grounding in technical operations, and prior efforts on standards committees for his past work with Oracle. Recently retired from a 40+year career in IT. Other residents we support that are applying for at large positions would be Gary Darling (was on the Task Force that brought Internet to Davis for the first time in 1992) and Steve McMahon (longtime member of the now defunct Telecommunications Commission) Thanks, looks forward to seeing the rest of the composition of the committee, and some more details as to what sort of time and content you want from me in a "background presentation" for the first meeting. Thanks RAN -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From christopher at newrules.org Tue Feb 16 06:54:17 2016 From: christopher at newrules.org (Christopher Mitchell) Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2016 08:54:17 -0600 Subject: [Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks... Week of 2/16 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.* North Carolina Coop Fibers Up Rural Counties and More - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 188 Tue, February 09, 2016 | Posted by christopher North Carolina is increasingly split between those in urban areas, where some private sector providers are investing in next-generation gigabit networks, and rural areas where the big providers have no plans to invest in modern networks. But coming out of Wilkes County, a cooperative ISP called Wilkes Communications and River Street Networks is taking fiber where the big companies won't. This week, Wilkes Communications and River Street Networks President & CEO Eric Cramer joins us for Community Broadband Bits episode 188 to discuss their approach, history, and plans for keeping rural communities well connected. They offer gigabit fiber, telephone, and cable television services. Wilkes has already upgraded all of its original 8800 member-owners from copper to fiber, with some help from the broadband stimulus programs to reach the costliest areas. It is now expanding to nearby areas and has overbuilt the population center of the county after CenturyLink continued plugging away with last century solutions. ... Listen to the Show Here ... The transcript from this episode is available here . .. Sale of OptiNet: BVU Caught Between Virginia's Rock And A Hard Place Fri, February 12, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez For more than a decade, the people of Bristol, Virginia have enjoyed what most of us can only dream about - fast affordable, reliable, connectivity. In recent days, we learned that Bristol Virginia Utilities Authority (BVU) has entered into a deal to sell its OptiNet triple-play fiber network to a private provider. The deal is contingent on approval by several entities. As we dig deeper into the situation, we understand that troubles in southwestern Virginia and Bristol have led to this decision. Nevertheless, we urge the Bristol community to weigh the long-term consequences before they sacrifice OptiNet. Once you give up control, you won?t get it back. *"...A Few Bad Apples..."* If the people of Bristol surrender this valuable public asset to the private market, they run the risk of undoing 15 years of great work. None of this is a commentary on the private provider, Sunset Digital Communications , which may be a wonderful company. The problem is that Sunset will be making the decisions in the future, not the community. ... This is a VERY Disappointing Story - Our In-Depth Coverage Here ... Newark, Delaware, City Council Votes For Feasibility Study Mon, February 08, 2016 | Posted by hannah Newark, Delaware, prides itself on its small-city status : a bike-friendly place with a great main street and home to 30,000 residents. Some, however, consider poor Internet access Newark's biggest small-city problem. In December, the City Council decided to move forward with a feasibility study for a municipal broadband network. In a 4-3 vote, the city council hired a consulting firm to investigate the city?s options for connectivity. For $69,000, the firm will answer Newark's questions, and the city will attempt to make an informed decision on the possibility of a municipal network. *Process for a Feasibility Study* As we reported in September , residents have driven the push toward a publicly owned network; the city council took notice and began considering the possibility. In October 2015, They hosted a public meeting to bring together community stakeholders and interested residents. At that point, community leaders heard from a consulting company about what a feasibility study would entail. ... Read the Rest of our Coverage of Newark ... Electric Coop Green Lights Fiber Pilot Project Thu, February 11, 2016 | Posted by hannah Electric coops empowered communities during rural electrification in the 1930s, connecting people to power grids. Now electric coops have the opportunity again to empower communities through affordable, high-speed connectivity. In Colorado, the Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) is moving forward with a pilot project for a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network . *Unanimous Decision for Fiber* In late December 2015, the DMEA Board of Directors gave the green light to start the pilot project. The move to provide connectivity comes as no surprise. DMEA considered providing middle mile connectivity for a long while before coming to the decision to instead deploy FTTH. If the coop had chosen to develop the middle mile network, they would not have connected members? homes, but instead would have built infrastructure connecting to the larger Internet. ... More on this Coop Approach ... Mount Washington Muni: Permission to Move Ahead Granted Tue, February 09, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez The town of Mount Washington, Massachusetts , has successfully streamlined its ability to invest in a municipal Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH ) network. On January 22nd, Governor Charlie Baker signed a home-rule bill specifically granting the tiny town of 124 residents a special authority: "Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the town of Mount Washington may own, operate, maintain, manage or hire others to do so on its behalf, and to take any reasonable action necessary to establish and operate broadband high speed internet infrastructure and services without the establishment of a municipal light plant." *Another Underserved Rural Town* Mount Washington is located in the southwest corner of the state; much of the community is covered by the Mount Washington State Forest and Mount Everett State Reservation. Large incumbents do not feel investment in fast, affordable, reliable network infrastructure would pay off. Due to a small population, the Taconic Mountains, and thickly wooded geography, any return on investment will take longer in Mount Washington than in urban areas. ... Read More About Mt Washington's Progress ... Minnesota Public Officials at Home and In D.C.: Funding Rural High-Speed Internet Wed, February 10, 2016 | Posted by hannah It?s getting to be a sad, repetitive tale: crappy Internet for rural populations. Minnesota public officials hope to change that. At both state and federal levels, they?re advocating for greater funding for rural high-speed Internet. They?ve proposed several ideas to fund rural connectivity. At the state level, Governor Mark Dayton is pushing to use $100 million of the Minnesota government budget surplus for rural broadband projects. In D.C., Congressman Rick Nolan has introduced a bill to provide funding for regional solutions, and Senator Amy Klobuchar is working on a bill for coordinating broadband installation and highway construction. Will any of these ideas work? *Minnesota Budget Surplus* Minnesota?s state government expects a $1.9 billion budget surplus, which presents an opportunity to fund large, one-time investments. The Star Tribune notes that such one-time investments in infrastructure, ?especially when infrastructure is defined broadly to include roads, transit, public buildings and broadband capacity,? could prove a welcome idea. Fiber networks have high, up-front construction costs, but they offer next-generation, high-speed connectivity. Depending on what state leaders do, those high construction costs may no longer be a barrier. ... Read the Rest of this Story Here ... Local Communities Appeal to State Leaders: Change State Anti-Muni Law Sat, February 13, 2016 | Posted by ternste Some of us remember it - not so fondly - as a discarded relic of an early era of the Internet. But it?s not a relic for people in some parts of rural Tennessee: the awful sound of a dial-up modem . There are approximately 28,000 people living in the county and as Marion County Mayor David Jackson tells it, he knows residents with no Internet access at all. Some of Marion County residents with nothing better than dial-up can actually look across the Tennessee River and see buildings and houses served by Chattanooga's EPB?s gigabit Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH ) network. Given this stark contrast, it?s no wonder the push is intensifying for more access to publicly owned Internet networks in Tennessee. ... Read the Full Story 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 rl at 1st-mile.org Tue Feb 16 14:27:27 2016 From: rl at 1st-mile.org (Richard Lowenberg) Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2016 15:27:27 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] CLIC Paper + Webinar Message-ID: <801477b6576d8ac63ef124ae9c3856ca@dcn.davis.ca.us> Of possible interest to some: The Coalition for Local Internet Choice, in partnership with the Benton Foundation, has released its new publication: ?The Emerging World of Broadband Public-Private Partnerships: A Business Strategy and Legal Guide.? https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/partnerships.pdf The guide summarizes various broadband public-private partnership models and considers how each model balances the risks and benefits of a project, and manages control over the network. The paper also summarizes the legal issues that arise through all stages of planning and negotiation, including how to review authority issues, what is involved in pre-negotiation project planning, and how to negotiate the details of the final public-private partnerships. The paper will be followed by the CLIC Webinar Series, a series of free educational webinars, on how local communities can enable development of next generation broadband networks, beginning with two webinars on broadband public-private partnerships. http://www.localnetchoice.org/clic-webinars/ RL --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 rob at omsoft.com Tue Feb 16 16:53:50 2016 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2016 16:53:50 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] Draft RFP for FSR for Community Fiber Message-ID: <56C3C49E.5040700@omsoft.com> Hi folks Please take a look at this Draft RFP. goo.gl/YYM9jB It is modeled by one on the Blandin Foundation web site. I got their permisssion to use it as a basis. I specifically need help getting the scope of work part in order. Would like to get this done by next week, and start getting it sent out. Thanks All RAN -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From steve at dcn.org Mon Feb 22 12:06:10 2016 From: steve at dcn.org (Steve McMahon) Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2016 12:06:10 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] Google will operate on open access muni Message-ID: http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/02/google-fiber-teams-with-huntsville-utility-to-expand-broadband/#p3 Composed on a tiny keyboard with clumsy fingers. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From christopher at newrules.org Tue Feb 23 11:21:32 2016 From: christopher at newrules.org (Christopher Mitchell) Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2016 13:21:32 -0600 Subject: [Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks ... Week of 2/23 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.* Fact Sheet On Rural Connectivity In North Carolina Tue, February 16, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez The Coalition for Local Internet Choice North Carolina chapter (CLIC-NC) and the Community Broadband Networks Team here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) have teamed up to create a new fact sheet: *Fast, Affordable, Modern Broadband: Critical for Rural North Carolina *. This fact sheet emphasizes the deepening divide between urban and rural connectivity. The fact sheet can help explain why people who live in the country need services better than DSL or dial-up. This tool helps visualize the bleak situation in rural North Carolina and offers links to resources. Rural North Carolina is one of the most beautiful places in the country but also one of the most poorly served by big Internet access providers. The gap between urban and rural connectivity is growing wider as large corporate providers choose to concentrate their investments on a small number of urban areas, even though 80 percent of North Carolina's counties are rural. ... See the Fact Sheet Here ... Boston Globe: Build A Muni Thu, February 18, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez The Editorial Board from the Boston Globe recently kicked off a series titled *"The Cutting Edge of the Common Good."* The editors intend to offer suggestions for how to create a prosperous city through ideas to benefit Boston's 4.7 million residents. Their first proposal? *Build a municipal fiber network* . In the editorial, the Board point out how the city has always been a cutting edge leader, from Revoluntionary War to same-sex marriage. But when it comes to developing the tech sector, the "City on a Hill" is being edged out by Chattanooga , Lafayette, Louisiana , and Cedar Falls, Iowa . High-tech innovators are flocking to communities with municipal fiber networks. ... WOW! What an Editorial! Excellent Argument!!! ... Muni Fiber Tennessee Twofer: Columbia and Pulaska - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 189 Tue, February 16, 2016 | Posted by christopher We cover a lot of Tennessee ground in this week's Community Broadband Bits podcast - episode 189 - from a cable network to muni Fiber-to-the-Home; Columbia to Pulaski. Wes Kelley, the Executive Director of the Columbia Power and Water Systems is our guest to talk about Columbia's cable and Pulaski's fiber. He cut his teeth working with a Michigan community's public utility that ultimately decided not to get involved in telecommunications. But he moved on to build out a citywide fiber network in Pulaski before ultimately moving to Columbia, which was the last community in the United States to build a cable system (since then it has been all fiber). He shares some of his lessons along the way, tips for customer service, and Columbia's plans for the future with their cable system. He also has some choice words for the big content owners that make the cable television business all but impossible for any reasonably sized cable operation. ... Listen to the Show Here ... Hudson's Velocity: Fiber For Local Businesses Wed, February 17, 2016 | Posted by hannah In Hudson, Ohio, local businesses prepare for the expansion of the municipal fiber network, Velocity Broadband , and a large business relocates its headquarters to take better advantage of the fiber connectivity. *Excitement from Local Businesses* Thanks in large part to Hudson?s fiber network, a leading provider of recovery management services has moved within the small town to a new state-of-the-art headquarters . The Millennium Capital and Recovery Corporation provides recovery management services nationwide and depends on fast, reliable connectivity in order to meet clients? needs. The new headquarters location provides for future growth and is equipped to utilize the city?s fiber connectivity. This is just one local business benefiting from Velocity Broadband. ... Learn More About The Network in this Post ... South Central Communications Bringing Fiber to Members in Utah, Arizona Tue, February 16, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Another rural communications cooperative is upgrading its current system to a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH ) network. South Central Communications (SCC), is in the process of deploying fiber to all of its 23 member communities in Utah and the few it serves just across the Arizonia border. The cooperative started as South Central Utah Telephone Association in 1953. *An Investment For Today And Tomorrow* Construction began in 2015 and should be completed by the end of 2016, reports the Southern Utah News . Kanab, population 4,300, is the first community to receive the upgrade from the coop'sDSL network to the new fiber infrastructure. All of Kanabs schools, municipal facilities, libraries, homes, and businesses will connect to the network, SCC President and CEO Michael East told the News: ... Read that Quote and More Here ... Durango's Dark Fiber Fosters Wi-Fi Freebie Sat, February 20, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Last fall, Durango joined a number of other Colorado communities that voted to reclaim local telecommunications authority. This January, the city began using its fiber resources to partner with a private provider and offer free Wi-Fi along the downtown corridor. The move is one step in the city's plan to optimize use of its fiber resources. At the moment, Wi-Fi appears to be the center point of that plan, with special attention focused on increasing competition so residents and businesses will benefit with lower prices and more choice. From a January article in the Durango Herald : Some rural residents with slow Internet also should have more service options by the end of the year, courtesy of CenturyLink, SkyWerx, AlignTec and BrainStorm. ?A lot of people are working on it. ... In certain geographies we?re going to see overlapping solutions,? said Roger Zalneraitis, director of the La Plata County Economic Development Alliance. Durango has leased dark fiber for over 20 years and operates its own I-Net for municipal and La Plate County facilities. The Southwest Colorado Council of Governments (SWCCOG) has been developing an open access regional fiber network since 2010 , funded through local communities and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. The SWCCOG is now working with the Colorado Department of Transportation and the La Plata County Economic Development Alliance to determine if and where there are gaps in the fiber network. ... Get the Latest News on Durango Here ... Davenport Stepping Closer To Muni Mon, February 15, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Davenport, Iowa, is more committed than ever to bringing Fiber-to-the-Home ( FTTH ) to its residents and businesses. At a January City Council public work session, current members detailed the city's plans for new members. Alderman Bill Boom noted that the community already has approximately 100 miles of fiber in place and by serving its own telecommunications needs, Davenport has saved $600,000 per year. *Connectivity As It Is Davenport* In January 2015, Davenport received the results of a feasibility study that documented lack of redundancy, inconsistent distribution of fiber, and complaints from businesses about speeds and costs. Incumbents are just not keeping pace with Internet access needs of Davenport's small business growth or the residential demand. Education and healthcare were two other areas where a fiber network could offer a long list of benefits to the community. The school district uses multiple providers because reliability is such a common issue. ... Read the Rest of the Story Here ... New Report, Webinars, on Public-Private Partnerships From CLIC and Benton Foundation Fri, February 19, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez As communities across the country realize the big corporate providers may never bring the kind of connectivity they need, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are sprouting up everywhere. A new report by Joanne Hovis, Marc Schulhof, Jim Baller, and Ashley Stelfox, takes a look at the issues facing local governments and their private sector partners. *Interjection from Christopher Mitchell: Partnerships are emphatically not sprouting up everywhere. To be more correct, enthusiasm around the idea of partnerships is sprouting up in many places. But compared to the hundreds of municipal networks currently in operation, we could maybe name ten partnerhips in existence today.* *The Emerging World of Broadband Public-Private Partnerships: A Business Strategy and Legal Guide * examines the practical considerations when investigating PPPs for better connectivity. The report was published by the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) and the Benton Foundation. The Benton Foundation sums up the three models explored in the report: ... Learn More About Those Models 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 rl at 1st-mile.org Thu Feb 25 10:29:05 2016 From: rl at 1st-mile.org (Richard Lowenberg) Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2016 11:29:05 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Westminster, MD BB Docs Message-ID: <8b3f4ca642989a5a4b1d5ac76a5b0f9d@dcn.davis.ca.us> The CLIC web site includes public-private fiber networking documents from City of Westminster, MD, that may be useful references for some of you. http://www.localnetchoice.org/sample-documents-for-p3s/ RL --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 rob at omsoft.com Thu Feb 25 15:21:14 2016 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2016 15:21:14 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] RFP for FSR - Met with Mayor Pro Tem - DCN Board Action Update - Big DOG - BBCC Message-ID: <56CF8C6A.3040103@omsoft.com> Hi All 1) RFP - SO thanks to everyone that provided feedback, and edits. The RFP is really coming together. The Scope of Work area is better, we are trying to avoid any BIAS in the document, which will be public record. So if anyone has any final comments they want to make, please log in and let us know. Please see https://goo.gl/Ycz2wt. Perhaps we can vote on a final approval at our next meeting. 2) Met with Robb - the DCN executive committee had a good meeting on Friday with Robb Davis. He reiterated his support of our efforts. He warned us against having any bias in one direction or other for the desired outcome in the RFP or the Study, and the Task Force needs to come to its own conclusion. I guess bias can be cited by obstructionists and cause the process to be set back. He sees a lot of parallels between this effort and the Community Choice Energy effort, and believes we can work within a similar framework to get this done. 3) DCN Board Update - At its last meeting the DCN board approved a motion to have DCN publish the RFP for the FSR for community fiber, and to raise money from the Davis Community to fund it. 4) Big DOG - To that end, DCN is now registered at givingedge.guidestar.org, a non profit fundraising clearing house, and is all ready to participate in the Big Day of Giving on May 3rd. the DCN profile includes a program specifically requesting funds for the study. So be prepared to donate at least something that day, it can be as little as a dollar. There are lots of prizes to go for, and expect a lot of activity leading up to this date. Here is YOUR chance to directly contribute to making this happen for Davis. http://givingedge.guidestar.org/nonprofit.aspx?orgId=1132583# 5) BBCC - This is the best conference to attend around FTTP deployments and community networks. I'm pleased to say that I'll be going this year, at least, and would like to see if anyone else would like to attend and split a hotel room. I'm getting my ticket for $350 through a special discount from a new non profit, Coalition for Local Internet Choice. This is important to attend, since there is so much to see and do, it would be great if other DavisGIGr's could attend. http://www.bbcmag.com/2016s/ As it looks like the Broadband Advisory Task Force initial meeting was suspended , nothing to report there. Best RAN http://www.bbcmag.com/2016s/ From mattwill at pacbell.net Thu Feb 25 15:47:41 2016 From: mattwill at pacbell.net (Matthews Williams) Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2016 23:47:41 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Davisgig] RFP for FSR - Met with Mayor Pro Tem - DCN Board Action Update - Big DOG - BBCC In-Reply-To: <56CF8C6A.3040103@omsoft.com> References: <56CF8C6A.3040103@omsoft.com> Message-ID: <1325449878.2605495.1456444061801.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> Rob and all, the RFP looks very good.? I added an "any other items" Section 11) to the Scope of Work.? I believe it is ready to be published, and if everyone agrees I suggest it be published March 1, 2016, which would move forward the RFP dates.? I suggest the following, which would mean we know who the Feasibility Study consultant is one the Big Day of Giving.? That would put us in the position to sell that "accomplishment" to all potential donors that day. Project Timetable Legal Notice published ................................................................................. Mar 1, 2016RFP will be sent out ................................................Mar 1, 2016 through Mar 21, 2016 Notice of Intent to Respond...........................................................................Mar 21, 2016RFP responder questions due........................................................................Mar 21, 2016 Answers to questions distributed..................................................................Mar 26, 2016 Proposals Due: Davis Community Network................... Apr 18, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. PSTInterviews, if necessary...................................................................................Apr 19, 2016Approval of contract by DCN Board............................................................. Apr 26, 2016 From: Robert Nickerson To: davisgig at list.omsoft.com Cc: Matthews Williams Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2016 3:21 PM Subject: RFP for FSR - Met with Mayor Pro Tem - DCN Board Action Update - Big DOG - BBCC ? Hi All 1) RFP - SO thanks to everyone that provided feedback, and edits. The RFP is really coming together. The Scope of Work area is better, we are trying to avoid any BIAS in the document, which will be public record. So if anyone has any final comments they want to make, please log in and let us know.? Please see https://goo.gl/Ycz2wt. Perhaps we can vote on a final approval at our next meeting. 2) Met with Robb? - the DCN executive committee had a good meeting on Friday with Robb Davis. He reiterated his support of our efforts.? He warned us against having any bias in one direction or other for the desired outcome in the RFP or the Study, and the Task Force needs to come to its own conclusion. I guess bias can be cited by obstructionists and cause the process to be set back. He sees a lot of parallels between this effort and the Community Choice Energy effort, and believes we can work within a similar framework to get this done. 3) DCN Board Update - At its last meeting the DCN board approved a motion to have DCN? publish the RFP for the FSR for community fiber, and to raise money from the Davis Community to fund it. 4) Big DOG - To that end, DCN is now registered at givingedge.guidestar.org, a non profit fundraising clearing house, and is all ready to participate in the Big Day of Giving on May 3rd. the DCN profile includes a program specifically requesting funds for the study.? So be prepared to donate at least something that day, it can be as little as a dollar. There are lots of prizes to go for, and expect a lot of activity leading up to this date.? Here is YOUR chance to directly contribute to making this happen for Davis. http://givingedge.guidestar.org/nonprofit.aspx?orgId=1132583# 5) BBCC - This is the best conference to attend around FTTP deployments and community networks. I'm pleased to say that I'll be going this year, at least, and would like to see if anyone else would like to attend and split a hotel room. I'm getting my ticket for $350 through a special discount from a new non profit, Coalition for Local Internet Choice. This is important to attend, since there is so much to see and do, it? would be great if other DavisGIGr's could attend. http://www.bbcmag.com/2016s/ As it looks like the Broadband Advisory Task Force initial meeting was suspended , nothing to report there. Best RAN ? http://www.bbcmag.com/2016s/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at omsoft.com Fri Feb 26 14:49:02 2016 From: rob at omsoft.com (rob) Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2016 14:49:02 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] Fwd: RE: Task Force In-Reply-To: References: <56BB967B.6010702@omsoft.com> <56CF474D.1030504@omsoft.com> Message-ID: <014e3c8b42e92f4be996f6c1d206b236@dcn.davis.ca.us> Nice! RAN -------- Original Message -------- Subject: RE: Task Force Date: 2016-02-26 14:28 From: Diane Parro To: 'Robert Nickerson' Cc: Sarah Worley Hi Rob, I'm planning to compose a longer email to all interested people but we received a good number of applications for the community member spots. This is fantastic but made obvious the need for our Cou8ncil Subcommittee to conduct interviews. These interviews will take place next week and will allow for Council to vote on the community member on at the March 15 meeting. I have note yet received the names of the representatives of UC Davis or the Davis Chamber of Commerce. I hope to have those in time to share that information with the rest of the group early next week. Many Thanks, Diane Diane Parro Chief Innovation Officer City of Davis (530) 747-5803 office (530) 220-3092 mobile dparro at cityofdavis.org www.cityofdavis -----Original Message----- From: Robert Nickerson [mailto:rob at omsoft.com] Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2016 10:26 AM To: Diane Parro Cc: Sarah Worley Subject: Re: Task Force Hi Folks! What's up with the Task Force? RAN On 2/10/2016 3:27 PM, Diane Parro wrote: > Thank you Rob! > > I have noted the selections and your alternate. I do not yet have any > information about UC Davis although I have followed up with them. I am > going to be on vacation beginning on Friday, 2/12, but Sarah will be > able to complete the website with the representatives selected by their > organizations. The community member will not be known until they are > able to be interviewed by the subcommittee of Council members that make > recommendations to these entities. > > As far as your presentation, I am really looking for an informative > primer on broadband. It would be great for you to share some general > background on what the current situation is in Davis and share some > terminology and context on the region and beyond. Here are my > questions: > 1. What is broadband? How is it defined? What is the actual > mechanism by which I can get internet service...on my PC, mobile phone > etc. > 2. How is it working in Davis? > 3. How does it work in other places? > > Rob, I certainly don?t want you to have to spend a bunch of time > preparing. I just want us all to have a shared starting point. I hope > your overview could last 15 minutes or so and the I will invite other > to chime in. I know we'll have a wealth of knowledge in the room. > John Paul the CEO from Spiral is planning to attend so I think we'll > have a good discussion. Please let me know if you have questions or > concerns. > > In case I didn?t let you know, our first meeting will be held on > February 24 at 6:30 p in the City Hall Conference Room. > > Many Thanks, > Diane > > > > > Diane Parro > Chief Innovation Officer > City of Davis > (530) 747-5803 office > (530) 220-3092 mobile > dparro at cityofdavis.org > www.cityofdavis > > -----Original Message----- > From: Robert Nickerson [mailto:rob at omsoft.com] > Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2016 11:59 AM > To: Diane Parro > Cc: mike790 at gmail.com; clements at UCDAVIS.EDU > Subject: Task Force > > Hi Diane > > Thanks for being staff liason for this Task Force. > > Here are some people we have selected for representation on the Task > Force > > Davis Community Network - > > Mike Adams > mike790 at gmail.com > > DavisGIG - our pick for DavisGIG depends on UCD and what choice they > make. > > 1) Chris Clements - unless he is selected by UCD. > clements at ucdavis.edu > > 2) Jeff Mischinsky > jmischki at dcn.davis.ca.us > > Since we are still uncertain about Chris, Jeff should be applying to > one of the At Large positions. We support him from a long term > community perspective, (resident since 1983), solid grounding in > technical operations, and prior efforts on standards committees for his > past work with Oracle. Recently retired from a > 40+year career in IT. > > Other residents we support that are applying for at large positions > would be Gary Darling (was on the Task Force that brought Internet to > Davis for the first time in 1992) and Steve McMahon (longtime member > of the now defunct Telecommunications Commission) > > Thanks, looks forward to seeing the rest of the composition of the > committee, and some more details as to what sort of time and content > you want from me in a "background presentation" for the first meeting. > > Thanks > RAN > From rob at omsoft.com Sat Feb 27 15:27:43 2016 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Sat, 27 Feb 2016 15:27:43 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] RFP for FSR - Met with Mayor Pro Tem - DCN Board Action Update - Big DOG - BBCC In-Reply-To: <1325449878.2605495.1456444061801.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> References: <56CF8C6A.3040103@omsoft.com> <1325449878.2605495.1456444061801.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <56D230EF.6080606@omsoft.com> Hi Although this is a great idea to move this along, I'm concerned that if the Task Force doesnt at least get to see this document and feel that they have been able to "be involved" they might be less inclined to participate in our process. At this point, it looks like the Task Force wont meet for at least 3-4 weeks...so that would put vendor selection after May 3rd. Thoughts? RAN On 2/25/2016 3:47 PM, Matthews Williams wrote: > Rob and all, the RFP looks very good. I added an "any other items" > Section 11) to the Scope of Work. I believe it is ready to be > published, and if everyone agrees I suggest it be published March 1, > 2016, which would move forward the RFP dates. I suggest the > following, which would mean we know who the Feasibility Study > consultant is one the Big Day of Giving. That would put us in the > position to sell that "accomplishment" to all potential donors that day. > > > Project Timetable > > Legal Notice published > ................................................................................. > Mar 1, 2016 > RFP will be sent out > ................................................Mar 1, 2016 through > Mar 21, 2016 > > Notice of Intent to > Respond...........................................................................Mar > 21, 2016 > RFP responder questions > due........................................................................Mar > 21, 2016 > > Answers to questions > distributed..................................................................Mar > 26, 2016 > > Proposals Due: Davis Community Network................... Apr 18, 2016 > at 5:00 p.m. PST > Interviews, if > necessary...................................................................................Apr > 19, 2016 > Approval of contract by DCN > Board............................................................. Apr > 26, 2016 > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *From:* Robert Nickerson > *To:* davisgig at list.omsoft.com > *Cc:* Matthews Williams > *Sent:* Thursday, February 25, 2016 3:21 PM > *Subject:* RFP for FSR - Met with Mayor Pro Tem - DCN Board Action > Update - Big DOG - BBCC > > Hi All > > 1) RFP - SO thanks to everyone that provided feedback, and edits. The > RFP is really coming together. The Scope of Work area is better, we are > trying to avoid any BIAS in the document, which will be public record. > So if anyone has any final comments they want to make, please log in and > let us know. Please see https://goo.gl/Ycz2wt. Perhaps we can vote on a > final approval at our next meeting. > > 2) Met with Robb - the DCN executive committee had a good meeting on > Friday with Robb Davis. He reiterated his support of our efforts. He > warned us against having any bias in one direction or other for the > desired outcome in the RFP or the Study, and the Task Force needs to > come to its own conclusion. I guess bias can be cited by obstructionists > and cause the process to be set back. He sees a lot of parallels between > this effort and the Community Choice Energy effort, and believes we can > work within a similar framework to get this done. > > 3) DCN Board Update - At its last meeting the DCN board approved a > motion to have DCN publish the RFP for the FSR for community fiber, and > to raise money from the Davis Community to fund it. > > 4) Big DOG - To that end, DCN is now registered at > givingedge.guidestar.org, a non profit fundraising clearing house, and > is all ready to participate in the Big Day of Giving on May 3rd. the DCN > profile includes a program specifically requesting funds for the study. > So be prepared to donate at least something that day, it can be as > little as a dollar. There are lots of prizes to go for, and expect a lot > of activity leading up to this date. Here is YOUR chance to directly > contribute to making this happen for Davis. > http://givingedge.guidestar.org/nonprofit.aspx?orgId=1132583# > > 5) BBCC - This is the best conference to attend around FTTP deployments > and community networks. I'm pleased to say that I'll be going this year, > at least, and would like to see if anyone else would like to attend and > split a hotel room. I'm getting my ticket for $350 through a special > discount from a new non profit, Coalition for Local Internet Choice. > This is important to attend, since there is so much to see and do, it > would be great if other DavisGIGr's could attend. > http://www.bbcmag.com/2016s/ > > As it looks like the Broadband Advisory Task Force initial meeting was > suspended , nothing to report there. > > Best > RAN > > http://www.bbcmag.com/2016s/ > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From steve at dcn.org Sat Feb 27 16:37:40 2016 From: steve at dcn.org (Steve McMahon) Date: Sat, 27 Feb 2016 16:37:40 -0800 Subject: [Davisgig] RFP for FSR - Met with Mayor Pro Tem - DCN Board Action Update - Big DOG - BBCC In-Reply-To: <56D230EF.6080606@omsoft.com> References: <56CF8C6A.3040103@omsoft.com> <1325449878.2605495.1456444061801.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> <56D230EF.6080606@omsoft.com> Message-ID: I wish things were happening faster, but I think it's important to give the task force a chance to engage with this process and take some part of the ownership. On Sat, Feb 27, 2016 at 3:27 PM, Robert Nickerson wrote: > Hi > > Although this is a great idea to move this along, I'm concerned that if > the Task Force doesnt at least get to see this document and feel that they > have been able to "be involved" they might be less inclined to participate > in our process. > > At this point, it looks like the Task Force wont meet for at least 3-4 > weeks...so that would put vendor selection after May 3rd. > > Thoughts? > > RAN > > > On 2/25/2016 3:47 PM, Matthews Williams wrote: > > Rob and all, the RFP looks very good. I added an "any other items" > Section 11) to the Scope of Work. I believe it is ready to be published, > and if everyone agrees I suggest it be published March 1, 2016, which would > move forward the RFP dates. I suggest the following, which would mean we > know who the Feasibility Study consultant is one the Big Day of Giving. > That would put us in the position to sell that "accomplishment" to all > potential donors that day. > Project Timetable > Legal Notice published > ................................................................................. > Mar 1, 2016 > RFP will be sent out ................................................Mar > 1, 2016 through Mar 21, 2016 > > Notice of Intent to > Respond...........................................................................Mar > 21, 2016 > RFP responder questions > due........................................................................Mar > 21, 2016 > > Answers to questions > distributed..................................................................Mar > 26, 2016 > > Proposals Due: Davis Community Network................... Apr 18, 2016 at > 5:00 p.m. PST > Interviews, if > necessary...................................................................................Apr > 19, 2016 > Approval of contract by DCN > Board............................................................. Apr 26, > 2016 > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Robert Nickerson > *To:* davisgig at list.omsoft.com > *Cc:* Matthews Williams > *Sent:* Thursday, February 25, 2016 3:21 PM > *Subject:* RFP for FSR - Met with Mayor Pro Tem - DCN Board Action Update > - Big DOG - BBCC > > Hi All > > 1) RFP - SO thanks to everyone that provided feedback, and edits. The > RFP is really coming together. The Scope of Work area is better, we are > trying to avoid any BIAS in the document, which will be public record. > So if anyone has any final comments they want to make, please log in and > let us know. Please see https://goo.gl/Ycz2wt. Perhaps we can vote on a > final approval at our next meeting. > > 2) Met with Robb - the DCN executive committee had a good meeting on > Friday with Robb Davis. He reiterated his support of our efforts. He > warned us against having any bias in one direction or other for the > desired outcome in the RFP or the Study, and the Task Force needs to > come to its own conclusion. I guess bias can be cited by obstructionists > and cause the process to be set back. He sees a lot of parallels between > this effort and the Community Choice Energy effort, and believes we can > work within a similar framework to get this done. > > 3) DCN Board Update - At its last meeting the DCN board approved a > motion to have DCN publish the RFP for the FSR for community fiber, and > to raise money from the Davis Community to fund it. > > 4) Big DOG - To that end, DCN is now registered at > givingedge.guidestar.org, a non profit fundraising clearing house, and > is all ready to participate in the Big Day of Giving on May 3rd. the DCN > profile includes a program specifically requesting funds for the study. > So be prepared to donate at least something that day, it can be as > little as a dollar. There are lots of prizes to go for, and expect a lot > of activity leading up to this date. Here is YOUR chance to directly > contribute to making this happen for Davis. > http://givingedge.guidestar.org/nonprofit.aspx?orgId=1132583# > > 5) BBCC - This is the best conference to attend around FTTP deployments > and community networks. I'm pleased to say that I'll be going this year, > at least, and would like to see if anyone else would like to attend and > split a hotel room. I'm getting my ticket for $350 through a special > discount from a new non profit, Coalition for Local Internet Choice. > This is important to attend, since there is so much to see and do, it > would be great if other DavisGIGr's could attend. > http://www.bbcmag.com/2016s/ > > As it looks like the Broadband Advisory Task Force initial meeting was > suspended , nothing to report there. > > Best > RAN > > http://www.bbcmag.com/2016s/ > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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: