[Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks... Week of 3/8

[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.*


Exploring the Huntsville Fiber Model - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 191
<http://muninetworks.org/content/exploring-huntsville-fiber-model-community-broadband-bits-podcast-191>
Tue, March 01, 2016 | Posted by christopher
<http://muninetworks.org/users/christopher>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/exploring-huntsville-fiber-model-community-broadband-bits-podcast-191>

Last week, we were excited at the announcement
<http://muninetworks.org/content/muni-network-huntsville-draws-google-fiber>
from
Huntsville Utilities in Alabama. Huntsville is building a municipal dark
fiber network to every premise in its territory that will be open to
multiple service providers. Google has already committed to using it to
bring real connectivity to the community.

In this week's episode, 191, we are talking with Tom Reiman and Stacy
Cantrell to understand the model. Tom is President of The Broadband Group
<http://www.broadbandgroup.com/>, the consultant that is working with
Huntsville on this project. Stacy Cantrell is the Vice President of
Engineering for Huntsville Utilities <https://www.hsvutil.org/>.

We talk about how the model originated, some of the technical details
behind the network, and what benefits they expect to see. This is an
excellent discussion with many implications for the thousands of
communities that want to improve Internet access locally but would prefer
not to offer services directly.

... Listen to the Show Here
<http://muninetworks.org/content/exploring-huntsville-fiber-model-community-broadband-bits-podcast-191>
... The transcript from this episode is available here .
<http://www.muninetworks.org/content/transcript-community-broadband-bits-episode-191>
..

Springfield, Massachusetts Introducing Free Downtown Wifi Plus New Dark
Fiber Capacity
<http://muninetworks.org/content/springfield-massachusetts-introducing-free-downtown-wifi-plus-new-dark-fiber-capacity>
Tue, March 01, 2016 | Posted by ternste
<http://muninetworks.org/users/ternste>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/springfield-massachusetts-introducing-free-downtown-wifi-plus-new-dark-fiber-capacity>

Starting this spring, the City of Springfield, Massachusetts
<http://www.springfield-ma.gov/cos/> will offer free municipal Wi-Fi
<http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term29> and new dark fiber capacity to
a 7-block area of the city’s downtown known as the “Springfield Innovation
District <http://www.courbanize.com/springfield-tdi/>.”

As Masslive.com reports
<http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2016/01/springfield_bringing_free_wifi_high-capa.html>,
the new dark fiber will create a connection between the city’s Springfield
Innovation Center
<http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2014/10/springfield_innovation_center.html>
and
an existing network of dark fiber capacity in this part of downtown. The
publicly owned fiber currently provides gigabit connectivity to municipal
buildings but the city will lease out excess capacity. The new Wi-Fi and
dark fiber services are part of a broader plan aimed at boosting economic
development and innovation in Springfield, the state’s third largest city
at 150,000 and the fourth largest city in all of New England.

The project is phase one of a broader plan to soon expand the network even
further in order to reach an additional downtown area and all of the city’s
public parks. Springfield’s Chief Information Officer Kevin Kennedy
estimates the project’s phase 1 total cost between $50,000 and $100,000.
While users interested in connecting to the dark fiber will contract with a
private provider for Internet service, the city will be the service
provider for the free downtown Wi-Fi.

... Spring into the Rest of This Story Here ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/springfield-massachusetts-introducing-free-downtown-wifi-plus-new-dark-fiber-capacity>
Congrats to FreeUTOPIA for Victory In Utah
<http://muninetworks.org/content/congrats-freeutopia-victory-utah>
Thu, March 03, 2016 | Posted by ternste
<http://muninetworks.org/users/ternste>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/congrats-freeutopia-victory-utah>

*Jesse Harris over at FreeUTOPIA <https://www.freeutopia.org/faq/> is
noting an important shift in the discussions and controversies that
surround Utah’s UTOPIA open access network
<https://www.utopianet.org/about-utopia/>. For starters, as the network is
increasingly showing signs of financial success, he’s noticing that critics
of the network have gone silent. Meanwhile, more and more people in the
region seem to be interested in getting connected to the network. *

*After almost a decade spent covering the UTOPIA open source
network, Harris declared victory for UTOPIA
<https://www.freeutopia.org/2016/02/22/macquarie-is-probably-dead-and-thats-probably-okay/>
and
for local authority over broadband access in Utah.*

*We’ll let Jesse take it from here:*



*... Jesse Actually Takes it From Here ...
<https://www.freeutopia.org/2016/02/22/macquarie-is-probably-dead-and-thats-probably-okay/>*
Albany, New York Studying Internet Access Needs
<http://muninetworks.org/content/albany-new-york-studying-internet-access-needs>
Sat, March 05, 2016 | Posted by Scott <http://muninetworks.org/users/scott>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/albany-new-york-studying-internet-access-needs>

The city of Albany, <http://www.albanyny.org/home.aspx> New York (pop.
100,000) recently hired a consulting firm to study the high-speed Internet
needs of the community, including possibly the municipality building its
own fiber optic network.

The study will, among other things, “assess the strengths and weaknesses of
Internet access currently available in the city,” according to a city news
release
<http://www.albanyny.org/newsandevents/pressreleases/16-01-22/CITY_OF_ALBANY_HIRES_CONSULTANT_TO_CONDUCT_BROADBAND_STUDY.aspx>
.

According to Albany officials, an estimated 30 to 50 percent of children in
Upstate New York communities
<http://www.albanyny.org/newsandevents/pressreleases/16-01-22/CITY_OF_ALBANY_HIRES_CONSULTANT_TO_CONDUCT_BROADBAND_STUDY.aspx>
live
in households that cannot afford broadband service in their homes.

The Albany study will also “investigate the extent of a digital divide in
Albany that prevents some residents from getting fast and affordable
Internet service at home or elsewhere,” and “recommend a prudent path,
including funding opportunities, to ensure the City has a broadband network
that is affordable and provides high-speed Internet access for all.”

... Many More Details with the Full Story Here ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/albany-new-york-studying-internet-access-needs>

Ammon, Idaho Preparing for FTTH Expansion
<http://muninetworks.org/content/ammon-idaho-preparing-ftth-expansion>
Mon, February 29, 2016 | Posted by ternste
<http://muninetworks.org/users/ternste>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/ammon-idaho-preparing-ftth-expansion>

Officials in the City of Ammon, Idaho, are moving closer to expanding their
municipal network to residents with a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH
<http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term13>) network. The FTTH expansion is
the latest phase in their incremental approach in this community of 14,500
people in the southeast corner of Idaho.

Ammon’s Director of IT, Bruce Patterson, told us the history of the
network’s development in a 2014 Community Broadband Bits Podcast
<http://www.muninetworks.org/content/how-ammon-idaho-builds-digital-roads-community-broadband-bits-episode-86>.
After starting the network several years ago with just a single link
between two municipal buildings, the network gradually expanded the network
to community anchor institutions. They also decided to serve businesses on
a case-by-case basis. Since the beginning, the city kept its eye on its
goal: to offer fiber access to every home in Ammon.

... The Rest of the Update from Ammon ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/ammon-idaho-preparing-ftth-expansion>

Ting's Next Stop Greater Sandpoint, Idaho
<http://muninetworks.org/content/tings-next-stop-greater-sandpoint-idaho>
Thu, March 03, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez
<http://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/tings-next-stop-greater-sandpoint-idaho>

Ting has chosen the Greater Sandpoint, Idaho
<http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjP2oirkaXLAhXETSYKHb2eC2EQFgggMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cityofsandpoint.com%2F&usg=AFQjCNFalbgKIbqRY2nV971sW9w5_KlDTQ>,
region as its next Internet access service area. The partnership will allow
Ting to provide gigabit Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH
<http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term13>) Internet access to residents
and businesses in Sandpoint, Dover <http://www.doveridaho.org/>,Ponderay
<http://www.cityofponderay.org/>, and Kootenai. The four communities are
located in Bonner County, in the panhandle area of the state; approximately
9,700 people populate the proposed service area.

*Rural Subscribers Want It, Need It, Will Use It*

Potential subscribers can pre-order right away <https://ting.com/sandpoint> as
part of Ting's "demand assessment" phase. Construction will begin later in
2016 when Ting determines there is sufficient demand in the region.

... Idaho Gets Fiber, Part II ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/tings-next-stop-greater-sandpoint-idaho>

Digital Northwest Broadband Summit: March 20 - 21, 2016 in Seattle
<http://muninetworks.org/content/digital-northwest-broadband-summit-march-20-21-2016-seattle>
Wed, March 02, 2016 | Posted by hannah
<http://muninetworks.org/users/hannah>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/digital-northwest-broadband-summit-march-20-21-2016-seattle>

Next Century Cities <http://nextcenturycities.org/> (NCC) is hosting *Digital
Northwest: A Broadband Summit for Regional Broadband Leaders* at the Bell
Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle, Washington. The National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA
<http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term220>) is co-hosting the event.

The summit will bring together federal, state, and local officials,
industry representatives, and community leaders to celebrate successes and
share resources. The summit will examine gaps that remain and strategize on
how to expand high-speed Internet access.

... Hope to See you There! ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/digital-northwest-broadband-summit-march-20-21-2016-seattle>

New Report on Digital Inclusion from Sesame Workshop
<http://muninetworks.org/content/new-report-digital-inclusion-sesame-workshop>
Fri, March 04, 2016 | Posted by hannah
<http://muninetworks.org/users/hannah>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/new-report-digital-inclusion-sesame-workshop>

A recent report by Victoria Rideout and Vikki S. Katz from the Joan Ganz
Cooney Center at the Sesame Workshop <http://www.sesameworkshop.org/> delves
into detail on the experiences of lower income families and Internet
access. The report, “Opportunity for all? Technology and learning in
lower-income families
<http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/jgcc_opportunityforall.pdf>,”
points to the promises of digital inclusion for educational opportunities,
but also to the current inequalities in Internet access.

The researchers highlight several key findings from the study in an effort
to inform policymakers of the root causes, and effects, of these
inequalities on lower-income families. They include issues of race
(families headed by Hispanic immigrants are less connected), of access
(mobile-only and inconsistent connectivity), and of affordability (despite
the existence of discounted programs).

... Read our Full Excerpt Here ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/new-report-digital-inclusion-sesame-workshop>

Community Broadband Media Roundup - March 7
<http://muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-media-roundup-march-7>
Mon, March 07, 2016 | Posted by Nick <http://muninetworks.org/users/nick>
<http://muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-media-roundup-march-7>

*Connecticut*

Connecticut high-speed Internet: Public or private utility?
<http://wnpr.org/post/connecticut-high-speed-internet-public-or-private-utility?mc_cid=f064a6ceee&mc_eid=2910c7b52b#stream/0>
by
John Dankosky & Tucker Ives, WNPR



*Kentucky*

This city's fight with AT&T could shape the future for Google Fiber
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/02/26/this-citys-fight-with-att-could-shape-the-future-for-google-fiber/?mc_cid=f064a6ceee&mc_eid=2910c7b52b>
by
Brian Fung, Washington Post



*Missouri*

AT&T gave $62K to lawmakers months before vote to limit muni broadband
<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/02/att-gave-62k-to-lawmakers-months-before-vote-to-limit-muni-broadband/>
by
Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica

... And other Community BB Media News Here ...
<http://muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-media-roundup-march-7>

-- 
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/20160308/660614e3/attachment.html>