[Davisgig] Recently in Community Networks... Spooky Week of 10/25

Tue Oct 25 13:14:53 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.*

H.R. Trostle On Co-ops, Munis, Connectivity In North Carolina - Community
Broadband Bits Podcast 224
<https://muninetworks.org/content/hr-trostle-co-ops-munis-connectivity-north-carolina-community-broadband-bits-podcast-224>
Tue, October 18, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez
<https://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/hr-trostle-co-ops-munis-connectivity-north-carolina-community-broadband-bits-podcast-224>

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
<https://muninetworks.org/reports/north-carolina-connectivity-good-bad-and-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
<https://muninetworks.org/content/wilson-forced-turn-service-pinetops>.
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 ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/hr-trostle-co-ops-munis-connectivity-north-carolina-community-broadband-bits-podcast-224>

CO Editors Want A "Yes": It's Only Logical
<https://muninetworks.org/content/co-editors-want-yes-its-only-logical>
Mon, October 17, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez
<https://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/co-editors-want-yes-its-only-logical>

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
<http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20161010/OPINION01/161019994/%E2%80%98Yes%E2%80%99-on-1A-2A-opt-out-of-SB-152>
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 ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/co-editors-want-yes-its-only-logical>

Stark County, Ohio's Fourth Utility: Feasibility Study Complete
<https://muninetworks.org/content/stark-county-ohios-fourth-utility-feasibility-study-complete>
Tue, October 18, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez
<https://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/stark-county-ohios-fourth-utility-feasibility-study-complete>

The results of a study are in and its authors recommend Stark County invest
<http://www.cantonrep.com/news/20161012/agency-needed-to-lead-stark-county-broadband-effort>
in
a regional middle mile <https://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term456>
fiber-optic <https://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term10> 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 ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/stark-county-ohios-fourth-utility-feasibility-study-complete>

Radio Time With Blake Mobley From Rio Blanco County, Colorado
<https://muninetworks.org/content/radio-time-blake-mobley-rio-blanco-county-colorado>
Wed, October 19, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez
<https://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/radio-time-blake-mobley-rio-blanco-county-colorado>

Rio Blanco County, Colorado, is moving along nicely
<https://muninetworks.org/content/rio-blanco-county-fiber-project-forges-ahead>
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
<http://kdnk.org/post/rio-blanco-county-it-director-talks-broadband>, 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 ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/radio-time-blake-mobley-rio-blanco-county-colorado>

National Cooperative Month: Celebrate Gigabit Cooperatives
<https://muninetworks.org/content/national-cooperative-month-celebrate-gigabit-cooperatives>
Thu, October 20, 2016 | Posted by hannah
<https://muninetworks.org/users/hannah>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/national-cooperative-month-celebrate-gigabit-cooperatives>

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
<https://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term18>) 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
<https://www.fcc.gov/general/broadband-deployment-data-fcc-form-477> from
December 2015 to find all the providers advertising a residential Gigabit
download <https://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term8> 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 ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/national-cooperative-month-celebrate-gigabit-cooperatives>

Gigi Sohn Speaks: A New Battlefield
<https://muninetworks.org/content/gigi-sohn-speaks-new-battlefield>
Thu, October 20, 2016 | Posted by lgonzalez
<https://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/gigi-sohn-speaks-new-battlefield>

A few of us from the Community Broadband Networks Initiative recently
attended the BBC Community Toolkit Program & Economic Development conference
<http://www.bbcmag.com/minneapolis/about.html> in downtown Minneapolis. On
the first day, Gigi Sohn <https://www.fcc.gov/about/fcc-staff/gigi-b-sohn>,
Special Counselor for External Affairs for Chairman Wheeler at the FCC
received the award from the Coalition for Local Internet Choice
<http://www.localnetchoice.org/> 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 ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/gigi-sohn-speaks-new-battlefield>

Ammon Wins NSF Grant To Pursue Networking Technologies for Public Safety
<https://muninetworks.org/content/ammon-wins-nsf-grant-pursue-networking-technologies-public-safety>
Sat, October 22, 2016 | Posted by Scott
<https://muninetworks.org/users/scott>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/ammon-wins-nsf-grant-pursue-networking-technologies-public-safety>

The city of Ammon <http://b.ci.ammon.id.us/>, 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.  <http://www.utah.edu/>They
will research and develop a series of next-generation networking
technologies supporting public safety.

... More on This Well-Deserved Grant Here ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/ammon-wins-nsf-grant-pursue-networking-technologies-public-safety>

BT Brings Free Wi-Fi To New Burlington Transit Center
<https://muninetworks.org/content/bt-brings-free-wi-fi-new-burlington-transit-center>
Fri, October 21, 2016 | Posted by Scott
<https://muninetworks.org/users/scott>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/bt-brings-free-wi-fi-new-burlington-transit-center>

Burlington Telecom <http://www.burlingtontelecom.net/> is teaming with Green
Mountain Transit <http://ridegmt.com/> to provide free high-speed Wi-Fi
<https://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term29> to commuters and GMT employees
at the new transit center, reportsVermont Business magazine.
<http://www.vermontbiz.com/news/october/downtown-transit-center-offer-gigabit-wifi-hotspot-burlington>The
bus transit center opened on Oct. 13.
<https://vtdigger.org/2016/10/13/burlington-celebrates-opening-new-downtown-transit-center/>

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 <https://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term8> 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 ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/bt-brings-free-wi-fi-new-burlington-transit-center>

Community Broadband Media Roundup - October 24
<https://muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-media-roundup-october-24-0>
Mon, October 24, 2016 | Posted by Nick <https://muninetworks.org/users/nick>
<https://muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-media-roundup-october-24-0>

*California*

Legislation would give SF residents more choice in Internet service
providers
<http://www.sfexaminer.com/legislation-give-sf-residents-choice-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 ...
<https://muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-media-roundup-october-24-0>

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