From rob at omsoft.com Mon Oct 3 14:09:54 2016 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2016 14:09:54 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Fwd: Communities Come Together for Fiber In-Reply-To: <1126019417979.1101292665313.1789984320.0.361645JL.1002@scheduler.constantcontact.com> References: <1126019417979.1101292665313.1789984320.0.361645JL.1002@scheduler.constantcontact.com> Message-ID: Hi All Just took a long interview about DavisGIG with Chris Mitchell at Muninetworks.org and the ILSR. They are looking for stories of businesses that have had to leave communities like Davis due to poor internet access options. If anyone knows of any, or was involved in one, please forward me a paragraph or two about the experience I can get it to them. The BATF has now 7 registered respondents to the RFP, proposals due by 10.31. Also the selection subcommittee has volunteered and a loose timeline has been discussed. Short answer, council action on firm selection in January 2017. Take Care everyone RAN -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Communities Come Together for Fiber Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2016 16:48:10 -0400 (EDT) From: Broadband Communities Magazine Reply-To: nancym at bbcmag.com To: rob at omsoft.com Having trouble viewing this email? Click here Growing Number of Municipalities Exploring Fiber Networks BBC Logo at top October 3, 2016 *Features* * * Fiber Deployment Goals: Cost-Effective, Fast and Flexible * * The rolling design method provides flexibility for this community fiber deployment in Longwood, Colo. * * A Checklist for Community Fiber Success * * Bill Valle?e of the Connecticut State Broadband Office provides a detailed checklist for communities evaluating their potential for fiber projects. *Cities Get Proactive with Fiber * Currently 178 communities in the U.S. have public or public private FTTx networks; many more are actively exploring initiatives of their own. */Industry news below:/* * __________________________________________________________________________* /**/ /*Industry News:* / Senators Gillibrand, Capito Introduce Legislation to Help Close Rural Broadband Gap Tennessee's Duck River EMC Hires Magellan for Broadband Feasibility Study Harmonic Introduces Software-based CCAP Solution 82 Percent of Households Subscribe to a Pay-TV Service Deviser Launches the AE2200 Meter for Streamlined Network Verification Axia to Invest $100 Million to Bring Fiber Connections to Rural Albertans * * ___________________________________________________________________________ *Contact Us* Editorial: Marianne Cotter, Community News Editor, Broadband Communities marianne at bbcmag.com Masha Zager, Editor, Broadband Communities masha at bbcmag.com *Interested in advertising in an upcoming e-newsletter?* * Contact us here and reach thousands within your target audience! * ___________________________________________________________________________ *Free E-Newsletter Subscriptions* Subscribe now to receive Broadband Communities free e-newsletters based on your interests.Subscribe here. *Choose your area of interest below:* General Interest |Municipal and Public Broadband | Rural Broadband | All Fiber-to-the-Home Bulletins | Broadband and Economic Development | Real Estate Developers, Property Owners, MDUs Broadband Communities,1909 Avenue G,2nd Floor, Rosenberg, TX 77471 SafeUnsubscribe? rob at omsoft.com Forward this email | About our service provider Sent by nancym at bbcmag.com in collaboration with Constant Contact Try it free today -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at omsoft.com Mon Oct 3 14:10:57 2016 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2016 14:10:57 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Fwd: Ammon In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <185cf1ee-1037-0865-df68-fcfa1c56524d@omsoft.com> Hi Here is an email Chris asked me to share with you all about Ammon, ID. Where they have built a DavisGIG style fiber network. RAN -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Ammon Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2016 15:22:36 -0500 From: Christopher Mitchell Reply-To: christopher at newrules.org To: rob at omsoft.com Feel free to share this around of course - https://muninetworks.org/content/ammons-model-virtual-end-cable-monopolies Christopher Mitchell Director, Community Broadband Networks Institute for Local Self-Reliance https://www.muninetworks.org @communitynets 612-276-3456 x209 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jmischki at dcn.davis.ca.us Mon Oct 3 14:41:20 2016 From: jmischki at dcn.davis.ca.us (Jeff Mischkinsky) Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2016 14:41:20 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Council action on fiber RFP In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <488895B6-C2B0-4BE0-B3C1-7ACF44918361@dcn.davis.ca.us> > On Oct 03, 2016, at 2:10 PM, davisgig-request at list.omsoft.com wrote: > > > > 1. Fwd: Communities Come Together for Fiber (Robert Nickerson) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2016 14:09:54 -0700 > From: Robert Nickerson > To: davisgig at list.omsoft.com > Subject: [Davisgig] Fwd: Communities Come Together for Fiber > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed" > > Hi All > > Just took a long interview about DavisGIG with Chris Mitchell at > Muninetworks.org and the ILSR. > > They are looking for stories of businesses that have had to leave > communities like Davis due to poor internet access options. If anyone > knows of any, or was involved in one, please forward me a paragraph or > two about the experience I can get it to them. > > The BATF has now 7 registered respondents to the RFP, proposals due by > 10.31. Also the selection subcommittee has volunteered and a loose > timeline has been discussed. > > Short answer, council action on firm selection in January 2017. actually i think its more realistic to say that is the earliest there would be council action ? feb/march is probably more realistic. The BATF is not likely finish selection, interviewing finalists, deliberating until mid to end of january, of possibly later. City Council action will of course take place after the BATF comes to a recommendation. cheers, jeff > > Take Care everyone > > RAN > > > > > -------- Forwarded Message -------- > Subject: Communities Come Together for Fiber > Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2016 16:48:10 -0400 (EDT) > From: Broadband Communities Magazine > Reply-To: nancym at bbcmag.com > To: rob at omsoft.com > > > > > Having trouble viewing this email? Click here > > > > > > > Growing Number of Municipalities Exploring Fiber Networks > > > > BBC Logo at top > > > > > > > October 3, 2016 > > *Features* > > * > * > Fiber Deployment Goals: Cost-Effective, Fast and Flexible > > > * > * > The rolling design method provides flexibility for this community fiber > deployment in Longwood, Colo. > > * > * > A Checklist for Community Fiber Success > > > * > * > Bill Valle?e of the Connecticut State Broadband Office provides a > detailed checklist for communities evaluating their potential for fiber > projects. > *Cities Get Proactive with Fiber > * > Currently 178 communities in the U.S. have public or public private FTTx > networks; many more are actively exploring initiatives of their own. > > */Industry news below:/* > > > > > > * __________________________________________________________________________* > /**/ > /*Industry News:* / > > > Senators Gillibrand, Capito Introduce Legislation to Help Close Rural > Broadband Gap > > > Tennessee's Duck River EMC Hires Magellan for Broadband Feasibility > Study > > > Harmonic Introduces Software-based CCAP Solution > > > 82 Percent of Households Subscribe to a Pay-TV Service > > > Deviser Launches the AE2200 Meter for Streamlined Network Verification > > > Axia to Invest $100 Million to Bring Fiber Connections to Rural > Albertans > > > > > > > > * > > > * > > > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________________________ > > *Contact Us* > > Editorial: > Marianne Cotter, Community News Editor, Broadband Communities > marianne at bbcmag.com > Masha Zager, Editor, Broadband Communities masha at bbcmag.com > > > *Interested in advertising in an upcoming e-newsletter?* > * > Contact us here and reach thousands within > your target audience! > * > ___________________________________________________________________________ > > *Free E-Newsletter Subscriptions* > > Subscribe now to receive Broadband Communities free e-newsletters based > on your interests.Subscribe here. > > *Choose your area of interest below:* > > General Interest > |Municipal > and Public Broadband > | > Rural Broadband > | > All Fiber-to-the-Home Bulletins > | > Broadband and Economic Development > | > Real Estate Developers, Property Owners, MDUs > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Broadband Communities,1909 Avenue G,2nd Floor, Rosenberg, TX 77471 > SafeUnsubscribe? rob at omsoft.com > > > Forward this email > > | About our service provider > > > Sent by nancym at bbcmag.com in collaboration with > > Constant Contact > Try it free today > > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > > The Davis Gig Wiki > > 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 > > > ------------------------------ > > End of Davisgig Digest, Vol 23, Issue 1 > *************************************** --- Jeff Mischkinsky jmischki at dcn.davis.ca.us +1 530-758-9850 From christopher at newrules.org Tue Oct 4 08:49:02 2016 From: christopher at newrules.org (Christopher Mitchell) Date: Tue, 4 Oct 2016 10:49:02 -0500 Subject: [Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks ... 10/4 Message-ID: *Recent Stories from MuniNetworks.org - a project of the **Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Instructions for unsubscribing appear at bottom. Send feedback. Forward Widely.* Virginia's Roanoke Valley Opens Fiber Access - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 221 Tue, September 27, 2016 | Posted by christopher Having few options for high-quality telecommunications service, Virginia's Roanoke Valley formed a broadband authority and is building an open access fiber-optic network with different options for ISPs to plug-in. In addition to being our guest on Community Broadband Bits episode 221, Frank Smith is the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority CEO and President. We discuss their various options for ISPs to use their infrastructure and the various services their network is providing, including access to conduit and dark fiber leases. We also discuss why they formed a state authority to build their carrier-grade network. Though they have had some pushback from incumbents - something Frank seems unphased by in calling the Authority "the new kid on the block" - they have built local support by building relationships with local organizations like Blue Ridge PBS. ... Listen to the Show Here ... Read the transcript of the episode here ... Rio Blanco County Fiber Project Forges Ahead Mon, September 26, 2016 | Posted by Scott The Rio Blanco County's fiber optic and wireless network project continues to make steady progress with services likely available in some areas by January. County IT director Blake Mobley offered the update at a recent meeting of the Meeker board of trustees. Asked by the trustees when broadband access would be available to residents, Mobley said, ?I think it?s very likely local will be lit in 2016,? according to a report in the Times Herald . *Work In Progress* Currently, Rio Blanco County is building out an open access network in the towns of Meeker (pop. 2,500) and Rangely (pop. 2,400) and fixed wireless system across a county-wide tower network. The county plans to build infrastructure to the curb and allow private providers to finish the connections to residential and business customers from curb to premise. Cost of the first stage is estimated at about $13 million. Rio Blanco County has a total population of 6,200 people over 3,000 square miles or an average of 2 people per square mile. ... Exciting Progress in a Very Rural Region - More Here ... Eugene Encouraged: Expanding Fiber Project Fri, September 30, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez For the past year, Eugene has worked on a pilot project to bring high-quality connectivity to businesses in its downtown core. Now that community leaders and businesses have seen how a publicly owned network can help revitalize the city?s commercial center, they want to expand it . *The Proof Is In The Pilot* The project is a collaboration between the city of Eugene, the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG), and the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB). As we reported last year, each entity contributed to the project. EWEB owns the infrastructure and uses its electrical conduit for fiber-optic cable, reducing the cost of deployment. EWEB also has the expertise to complete the installation, as well as manage and operate the infrastructure. They lease dark fiber to private Internet service providers (ISPs) to encourage competition over the shared public infrastructure. ... Growing Muni Fiber is Good News for Connectivity in Oregon ... Trust In Government: Strongest Close To Home Tue, September 27, 2016 | Posted by hannah We have recently covered state laws preempting local control, especially in North Carolina and Tennessee . State governments are supposed to be ?laboratories of democracy? and municipalities are sub-parts of the state. Preemption is ostensibly to prevent problems, but instead these state laws limit local governments? solutions for ensuring better connectivity. At the same time, people trust their local government more than their state government to handle problems. That?s the latest finding from Gallup?s most recent Governance Poll, and that makes sense for all of us following community networks. It's no surprise that trust starts with local community leaders. We have spoken to a number of public officials that acknowledge that when you know your elected official - perhaps live down the street from them or run into them at the grocery store - it's much easier to know that they share your hopes for the community. ... A Few More Details and Charts Here ... RVBA Gets Governor Kudos Wed, September 28, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Earlier this month, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe recognized the community of Roanoke and the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority (RVBA) for their work in bringing better connectivity to the region. McAuliffe presented the Governor?s Technology Award at the Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS) in Richmond on September 7th. The award recognizes the project because it has improved government service delivery and efficiency. In addition to serving local government, the network provides high-quality connectivity for businesses, offering affordable dark fiber, transport service, and dedicated Internet service. Christopher spoke with President and CEO Frank Smith about the network in episode #221 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. ... Well Deserved - More Details Here ... AT&T Makes Good On Threats, Sues In Nashville Thu, September 29, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez AT&T lawyers filed suit against Nashville just two days after Mayor Megan Barry signed the new One Touch Make Ready (OTMR) ordinance into law. The Metro Council passed the proposal for the final time, and sent it on to the Mayor, on September 20th. *Seeking Out Streamlining* OTMR was proposed by Google Fiber, which wants to enter the Nashville market by deploying an aerial fiber network. In order to do that, they need to attach fiber-optic cables to utility poles around town, but the current process is cumbersome and will significantly delay the rollout. OTMR streamlines the procedure but would allow some one other than AT&T to manage the rearrangement of wires on all poles in the Nashville rights-of-way. The telecom giant owns about 20 percent of the poles in Nashville; the city?s electric utility, NES, owns the rest. ... AT&T Sues to Stop Nashville From Removing Barriers to Entry? Will Wonders Never Cease ... Port of Ridgefield Receives Grant for Feasibility Study Sat, October 01, 2016 | Posted by KateSvitavsky Ridgefield, Washington, a community of about 4,800 located about 25 miles north of Portland, is one step closer to establishing a dark fiber network for the Port of Ridgefield after taking advantage of state funding for community revitalization. On September 15, the state?s Community Economic Revitalization Board approved a $50,000 grant for the project , and the city has approved matching funds to initiate the planning process. ?A unanimous decision by the board to award us the grant in the full amount we applied for is much appreciated,? Port of Ridgefield vice president of innovation Nelson Holmberg said. ?It recognizes our disciplined approach and smart policy we?ve established as we work to ?light up? the Discovery Corridor.? ... Another Port Expanding Publicly Owned Fiber ... Community Broadband Media Roundup - October 3 Mon, October 03, 2016 | Posted by Nick *Georgia* Broadband survey looks to boost Internet service in rural Northeast Georgia by Joshua Silavent, Gainesville Times In Dahlonega, for example, residents have only Windstream to choose from. The only thing preventing new providers from emerging in rural parts of the state is economics. ?I don?t believe a monopoly is the answer,? Gooch said. *Indiana* Lafayette upgrades public Wi-Fi access by Jeremy Ervin, Lafayette Journal & Courier ... Read the Full Community 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 christopher at newrules.org Tue Oct 11 09:14:26 2016 From: christopher at newrules.org (Christopher Mitchell) Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2016 11:14:26 -0500 Subject: [Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks ... Week of 10/11 Message-ID: *Recent Stories from MuniNetworks.org - a project of the **Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Instructions for unsubscribing appear at bottom. Send feedback. Forward Widely.* We have *just released a report on Internet access in North Carolina* and how rural areas are rapidly falling behind urban areas without any realistic hope for investment from the big telephone or cable companies. Co-ops and municipalities have made impressive investments but are hobbled by state barriers. *Read the Report Here! North Carolina Connectivity: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly * . Dark Fiber, Free Wi-Fi, Startups in Cape Girardeau, Missouri Mon, October 03, 2016 | Posted by hannah Missouri law has severely restricted municipal networks, but local entrepreneurs decided to create their own fast, affordable, reliable community connectivity. The City of Cape Girardeau has made new plans in its Marquette Tech District: free public Wi-Fi and a tech-hub for startups. Although the city is already home to more than 100 large employers, city officials want to also encourage small businesses and entrepreneurship. Underneath all the possibilities is publicly owned dark fiber. The Marquette Tech District will utilize the City of Cape Girardeau?s dark fiber to connect the new tech-hub and provide free public Wi-Fi. The project hopes to bring new vitality to the Marquette Tower building, a center of the city's old economy, transforming it into a space for new technology-based companies. Local entrepreneurs have created a nonprofit to develop the project and the local Internet Service Provider (ISP) Big River Communications is on board. The city, meanwhile, owns the essential infrastructure - the fiber. ... A very Interesting Project in Missouri - More Here ... Carrier-Grade Fiber in Centennial, Colorado - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 222 Tue, October 04, 2016 | Posted by christopher Located in the Denver metro region and shaped like a barbell, Centennial has effectively used dig once policies to build conduit and fiber assets that have attracted Ting to the community. Tim Scott is the Director of Fiber Infrastructure for the city and joins us on Community Broadband Bits podcast episode 222. Centennial took advantage of a project installing fiber for Intelligent Transportation Signaling. But just putting in more fiber was not sufficient to establish a carrier-grade network that ISPs would want to use. Tim explains what they had to do to attract ISP interest. Centennial's shape is very conducive to their strategy (which may be a tautology - they chose that strategy because it works for them). At any rate, their arterial corridors run quite close to the majority of premises and therefore a well-designed fiber backbone network is more attractive in that community than others. ... Listen to the Show Here ... Read the transcript of the show here ... Mediacom Lawyers Slow Competition With Court Time, Resources Thu, October 06, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez When big corporate incumbent providers fear a hint of competition from a new entrant, they pull out all the stops to quash any potential threat. One of the first lines of offense involves the courts. Iowa City now leases its fiber to Cedar Rapids based ImOn and to stop it, Mediacom is reprocessing an old argument. It didn't work the first time, but they are going for it anyway; this is another example of how cable companies try to hobble competitors; just stalling can be a "win." *A Lawsuit In Search Of An Offense* Mediacom has a franchise agreement with Iowa City to offer cable television services and it also provides subscribers the option to purchase Internet access and telephone services. As most of our readers are attuned to these matters, you probably already understand that just any old cable TV provider can?t come into Iowa City and set up shop. State and local law require them to obtain a franchise agreement, which often includes additional obligations in exchange for access to a community?s potential customer base. ... Read Our Full In-Depth Coverage Providing a Great Overview Here ... Grant Gets Project Going In Sanford Tue, October 04, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Sanford, Maine ?s plan to build a municipal open access fiber-optic network just got the shot in the arm it needs to move forward. On September 27th, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded the community $769,000 in grant funding to complete the $1.5 million project. *Mightiest Muni In Maine* About a year ago, we shared details about the plan to deploy what will be the largest publicly owned fiber-optic network in the state. The 45-mile network will run through Sanford , but will also travel through Alford, Kennebunk, and Wells and will connect to Maine?s statewide network, the Three Ring Binder. ?We?re creating the fourth ring on the 3-Ring Binder,? said City Manager Steve Buck, in a recent Journal Tribune article . ... Read More About Another Exciting Project in Maine ... Rural Georgia, Here's A Survey For Ya! Wed, October 05, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Georgia has a few areas where businesses and residents can obtain high-quality Internet access, usually from munis, but most of the rural areas of the state are still lacking when it comes to connectivity. In order to find out exactly how big the problem is, state lawmakers are asking rural Georgia residents to complete an online broadband survey. *Asking Rural Residents* State Sen. Steve Gooch told the Gainesville Times , the results will be used by a joint committee of lawmakers who will then make recommendations to the General Assembly next year. ?One of the biggest problems I have gotten complaints about from my constituents is the Internet,? he said. ... More on the Survey Here ... Buses Bring Wi-Fi So Kids Can Work At Home Fri, October 07, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez When Liberty County, Georgia ?s school system, began a one-to-one iPad initiative, they were making a positive impact in technology readiness for local school kids. After a year of the program, however, district officials determined that lack of Internet access at home was so prevalent, students ran the risk of falling behind. To fix the problem and allow kids to work online away from school, the school district is installing buses with Wi-Fi equipment and parking them throughout the community, creating ?Homework Zones.? *Taking Internet Access To The Streets* In Liberty County, approximately 60 percent of students don?t have Internet access at home, which renders school issued iPads useless at home. Access is available in libraries, when there are extended school hours, and sometimes in other public locations, but using public Wi-Fi takes kids away from home; some kids are just too young to be out at night. ... Read the Rest of This Discussion on School Bus Wi-Fi ... Finance Leader Turns To RVBA Sat, October 08, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Now that the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority (RVBA) has its fiber-optic network offering services to local businesses, smart companies that want fast, affordable, reliable connectivity are signing up. The latest is finance company,Meridium , which was recently acquired by GE Digital. We recently interviewed CEO and President of the RVBA, Frank Smith, who described what it?s like to be ?the new kid on the block.? The RVBA has faced some opposition and dealt with highs and lows during deployment, but as news of the network spreads, we expect to see more press releases like this coming from the Roanoke Valley: .... See the Quote and Read More Here ... -- You can always find our most recent stories and other resources at http://MuniNetworks.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Community Networks Weekly Updates" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to communitynetworks-weekly+unsubscribe at ilsr.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/a/ilsr.org/d/optout. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From christopher at newrules.org Tue Oct 18 08:16:32 2016 From: christopher at newrules.org (Christopher Mitchell) Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2016 10:16:32 -0500 Subject: [Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks... Week of 10/18 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 Connectivity: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Author(s): H. R. Trostle, Christopher Mitchell North Carolina's digital divide between urban and rural communities is increasing dangerously in a time when high quality Internet access is more important than ever. Rural and urban areas of North Carolina are essentially living in different realities, based on the tides of private network investment where rural communities are severely disadvantaged. The state has relied too much on the telecom giants like AT&T and CenturyLink that have little interest in rural regions. Download the Report The state perversely discourages investment from local governments and cooperatives. For instance, electric co-ops face barriers in seeking federal financing for fiber optic projects. State law is literally requiring the city of Wilson to disconnect its customers in the town of Pinetops, leaving them without basic broadband access. This decision in particular literally took the high-speed, affordable Internet access out of the hands of North Carolina's rural citizens. ... Read Our New Report Here ... Authors Discuss NC Report On PRX Thu, October 13, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez We have extensively studied the connectivity situation in North Carolina and just released our report, ?*North Carolina Connectivity: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly* .? Now you can hear from the report authors, H.R. Trostle and Christopher Mitchell, in our most recent PRX coverage. We spoke with both authors who gave us a recap of the situation in urban and rural North Carolina. They explained how they examined the data and came to the conclusion that, while urban areas are served relatively well by big private providers, the same cannot be said in rural areas. Unless a muni or rural telephone or electric cooperative offers Internet access in a rural region, odds are rural residents and businesses just don?t have access to FCC defined broadband speeds. Audio coverage runs 5:22. ... Listen to the story on PRX ? Update on Utah's Open Access UTOPIA - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 223 Thu, October 13, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez In the north central region of Utah, eleven communities are now served by a regional open access fiber-optic network operated by the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency or UTOPIA . UTOPIA?s Executive Director, Roger Timmerman, and Mayor Karen Cronin from member community, Perry City, take time to speak with us for Community Broadband Bits episode 223. One of the great advantages UTOPIA has brought the region is the element of competition. Rather than facing a choice of only one or two Internet Service Providers like most of us, people in UTOPIA cities sign up for a connection to the network and then choose from multiple providers who offer a range of services via the infrastructure. Competing for business brings better products, better prices, and better customer service. ... Listen to the Show Here ... Read the Transcript Here ... Loveland On The Trail Of Better Connectivity Wed, October 12, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Loveland, Colorado , was one of nearly 50 communities that voted to opt out of SB 152 last fall. Ten months later, they are working with a consultant to conduct a feasibility study to assess current infrastructure and determine how best to improve connectivity for businesses and residents. *Examining Assets, Analyzing Options* According to the Request for Proposals (RFP) released in April, the city has some of its own fiber that?s used for traffic control. Loveland also uses the Platte River Power Authorit y (PRPA) fiber network but wants to enhance service all over the community, focusing on economic development, education, public safety, healthcare, and ?overall quality of life.? Community leaders also want recommendations on which policies would encourage more and better service throughout Loveland. ... Read Our Full Story Here ... Duck River Co-op Considering Rural Fiber Future Fri, October 14, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Duck River Electric Membership Corporation (DREMC) in Tennessee announced in September that it has launched a feasibility study to investigate ways to use a proposed fiber-optic network to bring better connectivity to members. *Exploring Added Value* According to the announcement , DREMC is considering investing in a fiber-optic loop to improve communications between its offices and substations. DREMC recognizes that this initial investment can be a first prudent step in considering the future of the cooperative and the vitality of rural Tennessee: A fiber-optic loop has been proposed to connect all offices and substations, including the co-op?s emergency operations center. This project could also provide capacity for community purposes: fiber that could be leased to other parties, even Internet-to-home providers. The broadband feasibility study will explore how the proposed fiber-optic loop might help improve connectivity in rural areas served by DREMC. ... Read Our Full Coverage on ANOTHER Co-Op Focusing on Fiber ... Free Internet Access For Salt Lake City Low-Income Housing, Other Google Fiber Cities Sat, October 15, 2016 | Posted by KateSvitavsky Residents of Salt Lake City?s Lorna Doone Properties will be enjoying Internet speeds of up to one gigabit for no cost, thanks to a partnership between Google Fiber and the Utah Nonprofit Housing Corporation (UNHC). In July 2015, the company announced that the Google Fiber Gigabit Communities program would bring free access to select low-income housing locations throughout cities within their service areas, and the residents of Lorna Doone are newest to this list. Google will supply Internet access and UNHC has a computer rental program, which is in part supplied by the local business community. In addition, the City of Salt Lake has helped to fund mobile computer labs to bring more low-income households online. ... Read More About the Partnership Here ... Lakeland, Florida, Takes Small Steps Tue, October 11, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez This spring, Lakeland city officials began contemplating the future of the city?s dark fiber network with an eye toward making a firm decision on whether or not to expand how they use it. Rather than pursue a municipal Internet network, Commissioners recently decided to seek out private sector partners to improve local connectivity. *Too Much For Lakeland?* Kudos to Christopher Guinn of the Ledger for very thorough reporting on the issue. According to his article, the city will release a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a solution that provides Gigabit (1,000 Megabits per second) connectivity to replace the current speeds in Lakeland. Cable serves the community now with maximum speeds of 150 Megabits per second ( Mbps ) download and about 10 Mbps upload . ... More Details on Lakeland's Efforts ... Santa Cruz And Cruzio Call It Quits Mon, October 10, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez The city of Santa Cruz seemed well on their way to a productive partnership with Cruzio as the two entities hammered out an agreement for a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH ) citywide open access network. We recently learned that both parties have stepped back from the partnership, leaving the multimillion-dollar vision in a dark limbo. *The Plan* The $45 million infrastructure was to be owned by the city of Santa Cruz and Cruzio would operate it while also offering high-quality Internet access to the community. For the first ten years, Cruzio was to have an exclusive contract after which the network would become open access . There are approximately 62,000 people living in the community situated near Silicon Valley and this project was one of the larger public-private partnerships (P3). ... Another Sign that PPPs Can Be Hard to Form ... Community Broadband Media Roundup - October 17 Mon, October 17, 2016 | Posted by Nick *Connecticut* At least one state has a (fiber) backbone by Susan Crawford, Medium *Massachusetts* Susan Crawford makes the case for the Responsive Communities Initiative by Gretchen Weber, Harvard Law Today ... Read the Full Community Networks Media Round up Here ... -- You can always find our most recent stories and other resources at http://MuniNetworks.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Community Networks Weekly Updates" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to communitynetworks-weekly+unsubscribe at ilsr.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/a/ilsr.org/d/optout. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From christopher at newrules.org Tue Oct 25 13:14:53 2016 From: christopher at newrules.org (Christopher Mitchell) Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2016 15:14:53 -0500 Subject: [Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks... Spooky Week of 10/25 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.* H.R. Trostle On Co-ops, Munis, Connectivity In North Carolina - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 224 Tue, October 18, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez In June, North Carolina released a report pronouncing that 93 percent of the state has access to broadband speeds. At the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, our Research Associate H.R. Trostle, who has been examining reporting data in North Carolina for the past year, came to some very different conclusions. In episode 224, she and Christopher talk about the report they co-authored, which gives a different perspective on the connectivity situation in the Tar Heel State. In their report, *North Carolina Connectivity: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly *, Trostle discovered that, while urban areas have been well served by the big private providers, those same national companies have shunned rural areas. Instead, rural cooperatives and municipal networks are attempting to serve their residents and businesses with high-quality Internet access. It isn?t easy, however, when state laws discourage investment and access to federal funding. Trostle gets into her analysis of the data, its limitations, and what we can learn from both. She and Chris go through some of the recommendations they provide to the state of North Carolina as it moves forward. The obvious first step is to repeal the state?s barrier on municipal network expansion, which has caused real harm in Pinetops, North Carolina . They also offer advice on how to facilitate telephone and electric cooperative investment and what that could mean for rural North Carolina. ... Listen to the Show Here ... CO Editors Want A "Yes": It's Only Logical Mon, October 17, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez As Election Day approaches, people in a number of Colorado communities will be addressing special ballot questions on local telecommunications authority. Editors of the local news source, the Journal, encourage voters in Montezuma County and Dolores to opt out of harmful SB 152 and reclaim authority taken away in 2005. *?That Industry Has Had Its Chance?* According to editors at the Journal, SB 152 may have sounded like a good thing to legislators in 2005, but big corporate providers have not lived up to promises to bring high-quality connectivity to rural Colorado: ... Read That Quote and Many More Details Here ... Stark County, Ohio's Fourth Utility: Feasibility Study Complete Tue, October 18, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez The results of a study are in and its authors recommend Stark County invest in a regional middle mile fiber-optic network, establish a broadband authority, and take other significant steps to keep the county from falling behind in today?s economy. *The Fourth Utility* The county has relied heavily on manufacturing and retail in the past but as those opportunities dry up, young people are moving away and the future is in jeopardy. Healthcare is another strong industry in the region, but access to high-quality connections is now a must-have for hospitals and clinics. Elected officials also recognize that diversifying the local economy to lure companies that offer higher paying positions will bring new blood to Stark County. ... Read the Full Story Here ... Radio Time With Blake Mobley From Rio Blanco County, Colorado Wed, October 19, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez Rio Blanco County, Colorado, is moving along nicely with its Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) infrastructure investment. Readers will recall that two years ago, voters in the mostly rural county in the northwest corner of the state reclaimed local authority and soon after the community commenced plans to improve connectivity. In a recent interview of KDNK?s Geekspeak , Rio Blanco County?s IT Director Blake Mobley described details of the project as it moves forward. He also describes how people in the county are hungry for better Internet access. The guys touch on local control and how several other communities in Colorado are voting on the right to make their own telecommunications decisions this election season. ... Read and Listen to More Information Here ... National Cooperative Month: Celebrate Gigabit Cooperatives Thu, October 20, 2016 | Posted by hannah Time to celebrate the work of rural cooperatives that bring high-quality Internet access to residents and businesses forgotten by national corporate providers. October is*National Cooperative Month*! Let?s celebrate some of the accomplishments of those cooperatives providing next-generation connectivity. We pulled together a list of cooperatives who were actively advertising residential access to a Gigabit (1,000 Mbps ) at the end of 2015. These cooperatives rang in 2016 with Gigabit speeds, inspiring others to improve rural connectivity throughout the U.S. To assemble the list, we used Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Form 477 data from December 2015 to find all the providers advertising a residential Gigabit download speed. This generated a list of about 200 providers. Those providers were then manually sorted into ?cooperative? or ?not cooperative? based on publicly available information. ... See the Full List of Co-ops Here ... Gigi Sohn Speaks: A New Battlefield Thu, October 20, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez A few of us from the Community Broadband Networks Initiative recently attended the BBC Community Toolkit Program & Economic Development conference in downtown Minneapolis. On the first day, Gigi Sohn , Special Counselor for External Affairs for Chairman Wheeler at the FCC received the award from the Coalition for Local Internet Choice for the Local Internet Choice National Champion. The Obama administration?s FCC, under the guidance of Chairman Wheeler and the sage advice of Gigi, has become enlightened to the positive potential of community networks. *Pressing On* To their credit, the agency has dealt with a number of issues, including network neutrality and a number of other consumer centric matters. We have reported on some of them, but the most central to our work has been the issue of state laws that restrict the deployment and expansion of municipal Internet networks. Gigi, as one of Chairman Wheeler?s top advisors on this matter, played a pivotal role in helping the agency pursue municipal networks as a critical aid to local control, competition, and the ultimate national goal of ubiquitous Internet access. ... Read the Rest of Our Summary or Watch the Video Here ... Ammon Wins NSF Grant To Pursue Networking Technologies for Public Safety Sat, October 22, 2016 | Posted by Scott The city of Ammon , Idaho, continues to garner more recognition and opportunities from its unfolding municipal fiber network. In a recent news release, Ammon officials announced the city received approximately $600,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to partner with the University of Utah. They will research and develop a series of next-generation networking technologies supporting public safety. ... More on This Well-Deserved Grant Here ... BT Brings Free Wi-Fi To New Burlington Transit Center Fri, October 21, 2016 | Posted by Scott Burlington Telecom is teaming with Green Mountain Transit to provide free high-speed Wi-Fi to commuters and GMT employees at the new transit center, reportsVermont Business magazine. The bus transit center opened on Oct. 13. The magazine noted: ?A reliable high speed Wi-Fi connection on the Downtown Transit Center platform will improve the customer experience, allowing passengers to use their wait time more effectively as they work, connect with friends, or download an e-book to enjoy on the ride.? Burlington Telecom general manager Stephen Barraclough told Vermont Business: ... See His Quote and Learn More About the Wi-Fi Here ... Community Broadband Media Roundup - October 24 Mon, October 24, 2016 | Posted by Nick *California* Legislation would give SF residents more choice in Internet service providers by Bay City News, San Francisco Examiner Supervisor Mark Farrell on Tuesday introduced legislation requiring property owners to allow tenants in multi-unit buildings to choose their own internet service provider. While federal law prohibits property owners and property managers from entering into exclusive agreements with service providers, ISP?s estimate that roughly 500 multi-unit buildings in The City have limits in place that effectively prevent residents from using alternate providers, according to Farrell. ... Read the Full Community 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 steve at dcn.org Wed Oct 26 12:31:15 2016 From: steve at dcn.org (Steve McMahon) Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2016 15:31:15 -0400 Subject: [Davisgig] Google Fiber to cut jobs and halt expansion of US internet service Message-ID: No rescue on the horizon. We've just got to do it ourselves. Google Fiber to cut jobs and halt expansion of US internet service https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/26/google-fiber-internet-stops-alphabet-layoffs -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at omsoft.com Fri Oct 28 15:40:17 2016 From: rob at omsoft.com (Robert Nickerson) Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 15:40:17 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Some Good Articles about the Google Fiber Pause Message-ID: <7f347b4e-93c4-61dd-4136-c6772cd6dffb@omsoft.com> Hi Folks In case anyone you know is having doubts about a fiber network for Davis in light of Google's decision to pause their fiber roll out, please direct them to these 2 good articles on the subject. Personally, I think this makes our case for fiber stronger, as I believe Google is looking to partner on other deployment strategies of physical infrastructure it might be able to work with. Its latest announced city, Huntsville, AL is still on, and its because Huntsville is deploying the fiber itself in conjunction with its electric utility. I bet Google Access would be very interested in working with a DavisGIG style fiber network. Here is an article from muninetworks.org: https://muninetworks.org/content/google-fiber-pauses-no-one-else-should Here is an article from Diffraction analysis: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/salvaging-google-fibers-achievements-benoit-felten Thanks RAN From dawalter at dcn.org Fri Oct 28 23:21:22 2016 From: dawalter at dcn.org (Douglas A. Walter) Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 23:21:22 -0700 Subject: [Davisgig] Finally, Knights Landing will get high-speed internet Message-ID: <40E3FFB2-1A5D-4BE9-85E3-B488A0A024B8@dcn.org> Hi all. Wave Broadband is going to put gigabit fiber into KL "by mid-2017." http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/finally-knights-landing-will-get-high-speed-internet/ =-=-= Doug Walter, home edition dawalter at dcn.org Wag more (bark less) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: