[Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks... Week of 11/1

Tue Nov 1 09:02:49 PDT 2016

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

Google Fiber Pauses - But No One Else Should
<https://muninetworks.org/content/google-fiber-pauses-no-one-else-should>
Thu, October 27, 2016 | Posted by christopher
<https://muninetworks.org/users/christopher>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/google-fiber-pauses-no-one-else-should>

Google Fiber has finally announced its plans
<http://googlefiberblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/advancing-our-amazing-bet.html>
for
the future after weeks of dramatic speculation that it will lay off half
its workforce and give up on fiber-optic
<https://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term10>s entirely. Google has now
confirmed our expectations: they are pausing new Google Fiber cities,
continuing to expand within those where they have a presence, and focusing
on approaches that will offer a better return on investment in the short
term.

*Nothing Worth Doing Is Easy*

In short, Google has found it more difficult than they anticipated to
deploy rapidly and at low cost. And in discussions with various people, we
think it can be summed up in this way: *building fiber-optic networks is
challenging and incumbents have an arsenal of dirty tricks to make it even
more so, especially by slowing down access to poles.*

*... Read My In-Depth Exploration of What Google Fiber Pause Means ...*
<https://muninetworks.org/content/google-fiber-pauses-no-one-else-should>

Wilson To Offer Greenlight To Pinetops At No Charge
<https://muninetworks.org/content/wilson-offer-greenlight-pinetops-no-charge>
Tue, October 25, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez
<https://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/wilson-offer-greenlight-pinetops-no-charge>

The town of Pinetops, North Carolina, has a six-month reprieve.

On October 20, the Wilson City Council voted to continue to provide
telephone and Internet access to customers outside of Wilson County, which
includes Pinetops, *for an additional six months **at no charge*. As we
reported earlier
<https://muninetworks.org/content/wilson-forced-turn-service-pinetops>, the
City Council had been backed into a corner by state law, which would force
them to discontinue Wilson’s municipal Greenlight service, or risk losing
their exemption entirely.

In August, the Sixth Circuit for the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the FCC
decision
<https://muninetworks.org/content/sixth-circuit-court-appeals-reverses-fcc-disappointing-ruling>
to
preempt North Carolina’s state law that prevented Greenlight from serving
nearby Pinetops. When Hurricane Matthew struck Pinetops, however, the
Wilson community could not fathom piling yet another burden - lack of
high-quality Internet access - on the struggling rural community.

... What an Incredible Development - We Hope NC Legislature Responds in
Good Faith ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/wilson-offer-greenlight-pinetops-no-charge>

Midwest Energy Cooperative Connects Rural Michigan - Community Broadband
Bits Podcast 225
<https://muninetworks.org/content/midwest-energy-cooperative-connects-rural-michigan-community-broadband-bits-podcast-225>
Tue, October 25, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez
<https://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/midwest-energy-cooperative-connects-rural-michigan-community-broadband-bits-podcast-225>

Telephone and electric cooperatives are making strides in bringing
high-quality connectivity to rural areas while national providers stay in
the city. This week we speak with two gentlemen from rural southwest
Michigan’s Midwest Energy Cooperative <http://www.teammidwest.com/>:
President and CEO Bob Hance and Vice President of Regulatory Compliance
Dave Allen.

The electric cooperative has embarked on a project to bring fiber-optic
<https://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term10>connectivity to its members
within its electric distribution grid. The multi-year project will bring
better functionality to electric services and high-speed Internet access to
areas of the state struggling with yesterday’s technologies. Bob and Dave
describe the cooperative’s commitment to it’s members and discuss the deep
roots of the cooperative in the region. They also touch on how the project
is already improving lives in the areas that are being served.

Bob, Dave, and Chris, also spend some time discussing the difficulties that
face rural cooperatives, especially regarding federal funding and its
distribution. Serving sparsely populated areas is a challenge. Federal
funding is often distributed more favorably to big corporate providers that
promise to deliver much slower speeds than cooperatives like Midwest
Energy. Co-ops are delivering better services, and building better networks
with less federal funding; they also face higher hurdles to obtain that
funding.

... Listen to the Show Here
<https://muninetworks.org/content/midwest-energy-cooperative-connects-rural-michigan-community-broadband-bits-podcast-225>
... Read the Transcript Here
<https://muninetworks.org/content/transcript-community-broadband-bits-episode-225>
...

Blair Levin In Wilson For Nov. 4 Event On Greenlight
<https://muninetworks.org/content/blair-levin-wilson-nov-4-event-greenlight>
Tue, October 25, 2016 | Posted by Scott
<https://muninetworks.org/users/scott>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/blair-levin-wilson-nov-4-event-greenlight>

A North Carolina regional tech news publication will host a program on
Greenlight <http://www.greenlightnc.com/about/internet/>, the publicly
owned and built fiber optic network of Wilson, North Carolina (pop. 50,000)
whose gigabit Internet service has helped transform the community’s
economy.

WRAL TechWire’s next Executive Exchange
<http://wraltechwire.com/building-a-gigabit-ecosystem-wilson-s-evolution-a-wral-techwire-event-/16102642/>
event
titled “*Building a gigabit ecosystem*” will look at how Wilson built its
fiber optic system, "turning the one-time tobacco town into North
Carolina’s first Internet ecosystem." The event begins at 8 a.m. Friday,
Nov. 4 at the Edna Boykin Cultural Center; broadband expert Blair Levin
<https://www.brookings.edu/experts/blair-levin/> is scheduled to give the
keynote address. Levin is former chief of staff at the Federal
Communications Commission. <https://www.fcc.gov/>

... It is Coming Up! Don't Miss it if You Can Attend ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/blair-levin-wilson-nov-4-event-greenlight>

Chatham County, NC: Share Your Connectivity Perspective In This Survey
<https://muninetworks.org/content/chatham-county-nc-share-your-connectivity-perspective-survey>
Mon, October 24, 2016 | Posted by hannah
<https://muninetworks.org/users/hannah>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/chatham-county-nc-share-your-connectivity-perspective-survey>

With the release of our North Carolina report
<https://muninetworks.org/reports/north-carolina-connectivity-good-bad-and-ugly>,
it is important to remember that reports and maps are only as good as the
underlying data. Although federal and state governments have collected
information on deployment and access for several years, the accuracy and
quality of that data is up for debate. Chatham County, North Carolina,
wants to show the actual situation that local residents face.

Chatham County is encouraging every household or business to complete a
survey this next month. The survey will enable community leaders to move
forward <http://www.chathamnc.org/index.aspx?page=19&recordid=6708>.

*“It is up to us…”*

... More Information Here ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/chatham-county-nc-share-your-connectivity-perspective-survey>

Fresno Looking For Partners: RFQ Responses Due Nov. 30th
<https://muninetworks.org/content/fresno-looking-partners-rfq-responses-due-nov-30th>
Thu, October 27, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez
<https://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/fresno-looking-partners-rfq-responses-due-nov-30th>

Fresno, California, is looking for one or more partners to bring Gigabit
connectivity to the entire community. City leaders recently released a Request
for Qualifications
<http://www.fresno.gov/NR/rdonlyres/C04D6686-41B4-42B1-8D27-D1A52D8E8617/35438/WiFiRFQwithAppendices_FINAL.pdf>
(RFQ)
to send out the call for interested entities. Letters of interest are due
on *November 14th* and statements of qualifications are due by *November
30th*.

*Leaving No One Behind*

According to the RFQ, the community is experiencing growth in the tech
sector and want to support the tide by improving Internet infrastructure
throughout the community. In addition to serving new businesses for economic
development
<https://muninetworks.org/content/municipal-networks-and-economic-development>,
the network will connect community anchor institutions
<https://muninetworks.org/content/institutional-networks> such as schools,
hospitals, and libraries.

... More Information On the RFQ ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/fresno-looking-partners-rfq-responses-due-nov-30th>

Movie Monster Madness At MuniNetworks! Internet Terror Triple Feature!
<https://muninetworks.org/content/movie-monster-madness-muninetworks-internet-terror-triple-feature>
Fri, October 28, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez
<https://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/movie-monster-madness-muninetworks-internet-terror-triple-feature>

Much like the the bone-chilling flicks celebrating eerie entertainment that
dwells in the depths of our dark imaginations, monster cable and DSL
<https://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term9> Internet service providers
strike terror in the hearts of subscribers…if they survive. Mesmerizing
fees, hair-raising customer service, and shockingly slow connections can
drive one to the brink of madness.

In celebration of Halloween 2016, our writers each selected a national ISP
and reimagined it as a classic horror character. The results are
horrifying! Read them here…*if you dare!*

 .... Weee! Not Too Late to Enjoy These Short Spooky Stories ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/movie-monster-madness-muninetworks-internet-terror-triple-feature>

Community Broadband Media Roundup - October 31
<https://muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-media-roundup-october-31-0>
Mon, October 31, 2016 | Posted by Nick <https://muninetworks.org/users/nick>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-media-roundup-october-31-0>

*Georgia*

City and county launch municipal broadband survey
<http://www.connectsavannah.com/NewsFeed/archives/2016/10/24/city-and-county-launch-municipal-broadband-survey>
by
Jim Morekis, Connect Savannah

*Minnesota*

County's broadband speeds rank fourth-worst in MN
<http://www.perhamfocus.com/news/4146204-countys-broadband-speeds-rank-fourth-worst-mn>
by
Marie Johnson, Perham Focus

RS Fiber: A new rural Internet cooperative
<http://www.bbcmag.com/2016mags/Aug_Sep/BBC_Aug16_RSFiber.pdf> by Scott
Carlson and Christopher Mitchell, Broadband Communities Magazine

Rochester City Council needs to act on municipal broadband
<http://www.postbulletin.com/opinion/letters/letter-rochester-city-council-needs-to-act-on-municipal-broadband/article_3e3861a3-bd90-5a5b-b939-e47641ee4ae7.html>
by
Jim Jensen, Rochester Post Bulletin

 ... Read the Full Community Networks Media Roundup ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-media-roundup-october-31-0>

-- 
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/20161101/62fe628e/attachment.html>