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<div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><div style="font-size:12.8px"><i style="font-size:13px">Recent Stories from MuniNetworks.org - a project of the </i><i style="font-size:13px">Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Instructions for unsubscribing appear at bottom.  Send feedback.  Forward Widely.</i></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><i style="font-size:13px"><br></i></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><i style="font-size:13px">Sure Halloween is now LONGGGG gone ... but you can still enjoy our <a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/your-choice-cable-monopoly-tricks-or-muni-fiber-treats">Infographic comparing muni fiber to big incumbent cable and DSL companies</a>!</i></div><div><i style="font-size:13px"><br></i></div></div></div><div><h2 class="" style="line-height:1.3em;margin:0px 0px 0.5em;font-family:Tahoma,Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/let-it-be-local-43-colorado-communities-vote-better-broadband" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);text-decoration:none">Let It Be Local: 43 Colorado Communities to Vote on Better Broadband</a></h2><div class="" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-size:14px;font-style:italic;margin-bottom:10px;font-family:Verdana,Tahoma,'DejaVu Sans',sans-serif;line-height:18.004px"><span class="" style="font-size:0.9em">Fri, October 30, 2015 | Posted by <a href="http://muninetworks.org/users/tom-ernste" title="View user profile." style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Tom Ernste</a></span></div><div class="" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Tahoma,'DejaVu Sans',sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:18.004px"><div class="" style="float:left;margin:0px 10px 1em 0px"><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/let-it-be-local-43-colorado-communities-vote-better-broadband" class="" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none"><img src="http://muninetworks.org/sites/www.muninetworks.org/files/imagecache/teaser/seal-colorado.png" alt="" title="" width="125" height="125" class="" style="border: 0px;"></a></div></div></div><p style="margin:1em 0px">One year ago, a wave started in Colorado as voters in <a href="http://www.muninetworks.org/content/republicans-and-democrats-alike-restore-local-authority-colorado" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">a handful of communities</a>chose to reclaim the local telecommunications authority revoked by CenturyLink lobbyists in 2005. This year, the wave is even bigger.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px"><strong>Colorado Communities Want the Choice</strong></p><p style="margin:1em 0px">As 2015 election day approaches, voters in 43 Colorado communities are on track to keep the momentum going across the state. A total of 17 counties, 26 towns, and at least 3 school districts are taking the issue to voters, reports <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2468313/colorado-municipal-league-review-of-2015-ballot.pdf" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">the Colorado Municipal League</a>. Referendums to opt out of restrictive <a href="http://muninetworks.org/tags/tags/sb-152" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">SB 152</a> will take place across the state, much to the chagrin of big ISPs who spent millions in lobbying dollars to get the bill passed.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px">In 2014, nine communities overwhelmingly chose to reclaim local authority. Some of those communities, including <a href="http://www.muninetworks.org/content/boulder-releases-rfp-broadband-feasibility-study" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Boulder</a> and <a href="http://www.muninetworks.org/content/rio-blanco-county-has-big-plans-open-access-network" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Rio Blanco County</a>, are taking steps forward. The intention of the referendums were primarily to take back a local right hijacked by the state legislature in 2005 and some communities may never take any action. A number of Colorado news outlets, including<a href="http://www.kunc.org/post/colorado-voters-2015-may-be-year-broadband#stream/0" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">local KUNC</a>, the <a href="http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20151026/NEWS01/151029654/0/NEWS01/Voters-asked-to-lift-restrictions-on-local-fiber-optic-lineshttp://www.durangoherald.com/article/20151026/NEWS01/151029654/0/NEWS01/Voters-asked-to-lift-restrictions-on-local-fiber-optic-lines" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Durango Herald</a>, and <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/ci_26300274/meyer-colorado-law-hinders-cities-efforts-expand-broadband" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">the Denver Post</a> support the tide of local self-reliance and expect it to swell.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px">... <a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/let-it-be-local-43-colorado-communities-vote-better-broadband">Colorado is VOTING TODAY!</a> ... More Details and Results on MuniNetworks.org Wed! ...</p></div></div><div><br></div><div><h2 class="" style="line-height:1.3em;margin:0px 0px 0.5em;font-family:Tahoma,Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/more-fiberventions-chattanooga" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);text-decoration:none">More "Fiberventions" In Chattanooga</a></h2><div class="" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-size:14px;font-style:italic;margin-bottom:10px;font-family:Verdana,Tahoma,'DejaVu Sans',sans-serif;line-height:18.004px"><span class="" style="font-size:0.9em">Mon, October 26, 2015 | Posted by <a href="http://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez" title="View user profile." style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">lgonzalez</a></span></div><div class="" style="font-family:Verdana,Tahoma,'DejaVu Sans',sans-serif"><div class="" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:14px;line-height:18.004px;float:left;margin:0px 10px 1em 0px"><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/more-fiberventions-chattanooga" class="" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none"><img src="http://muninetworks.org/sites/www.muninetworks.org/files/imagecache/teaser/logo-epbfiber.jpg" alt="" title="" width="125" height="93" class="" style="border: 0px;"></a></div></div></div><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:14px;line-height:18.004px;margin:1em 0px">Chattanooga EPB has selected two new winners of its "Fibervention" campaign. We <a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/fibervention-break-cable-habit-chattanooga" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">introduced you to Ms. Martha</a> in August; during September and October, the winners were the Rolles and a student named Monica.</p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:14px;line-height:18.004px;margin:1em 0px">Winners, nominated by a "Fiberventionist," receive three months of free EPB fiber optic service, a Roku online streaming player, <a href="http://epbfibervention.com/about-1/" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">and several other cool gifts</a>. The Rolles also received a new laptop and Monica received a new TV.</p><div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:14px;line-height:18.004px">Here are their stories and Fibervention videos:</div><blockquote style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:0.9em;line-height:1.5em;margin:1em 2em"><i>Chris and Dorothy Rolle are making a difference in Avondale, one child at a time. Every morning, they arise at 4 a.m. to help provide a nutritious breakfast, healthy snacks and school supplies for nearly 100 children who gather at the bus stop across the street. EPB staged a one-of-a-kind Fibervention to give them a helping hand. Together we can all be neighbors helping neighbors.</i><br></blockquote><font color="#333333"><span style="font-size:12.6px;line-height:18.9px"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/more-fiberventions-chattanooga">... Watch These Entertaining Videos Here ...</a><br><br></span></font></div><div><font color="#333333"><br></font></div><div><h2 class="" style="line-height:1.3em;margin:0px 0px 0.5em;font-family:Tahoma,Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/exploring-early-stages-building-municipal-fiber-community-broadband-bits-episode-174" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);text-decoration:none">Exploring Early Stages of Building Municipal Fiber - Community Broadband Bits Episode 174</a></h2><div class="" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-size:14px;font-style:italic;margin-bottom:10px;line-height:18.004px"><span class="" style="font-size:0.9em">Tue, October 27, 2015 | Posted by <a href="http://muninetworks.org/users/christopher" title="View user profile." style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">christopher</a></span></div><div class="" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:14px;line-height:18.004px"><div class="" style="float:left;margin:0px 10px 1em 0px"><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/exploring-early-stages-building-municipal-fiber-community-broadband-bits-episode-174" class="" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none"><img src="http://muninetworks.org/sites/www.muninetworks.org/files/imagecache/teaser/logo-community-bb-bits_0.png" alt="" title="" width="125" height="125" class="" style="border: 0px;"></a></div></div></div><p style="margin:1em 0px">When communities consider building their own network, they are often venturing outside their areas of expertise and have to get advice from consultants and industry experts. This week, we talk with two guests from <a href="http://vantagepnt.com/" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Vantage Point</a>, an employee owned engineering and consulting firm that works with a variety of clients, from private companies to municipalities on telecommunications matters.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px">President Chad Glanzer and Assistant Director of Engineering Carmen O'Neill explain the early stages of planning around community fiber networks and some of the trade-offs that can be made. For instance, paying more in upfront planning can lower the costs and uncertainty of future construction.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px">We talk about the importance of financial forecasts and how those estimates interact with the network design process. We hope this discussion helps local officials and activists better understand what early stages look like if they want to build a community fiber network.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px">...  <a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/exploring-early-stages-building-municipal-fiber-community-broadband-bits-episode-174">Listen to the Show Here</a> ... <a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/transcript-community-broadband-bits-episode-174" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Read the transcript from this episode here</a> ...</p></div></div><div><font color="#333333"><br></font></div><div><h2 class="" style="line-height:1.3em;margin:0px 0px 0.5em;font-family:Tahoma,Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/hudson-brings-velocity-businesses-ohio" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);text-decoration:none">Hudson Brings Velocity to Businesses in Ohio</a></h2><div class="" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-size:14px;font-style:italic;margin-bottom:10px;line-height:18.004px"><span class="" style="font-size:0.9em">Tue, October 27, 2015 | Posted by <a href="http://muninetworks.org/users/tom-ernste" title="View user profile." style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Tom Ernste</a></span></div><div class="" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:14px;line-height:18.004px"><div class="" style="float:left;margin:0px 10px 1em 0px"><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/hudson-brings-velocity-businesses-ohio" class="" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none"><img src="http://muninetworks.org/sites/www.muninetworks.org/files/imagecache/teaser/seal-hudson-oh.jpg" alt="" title="" width="125" height="125" class="" style="border: 0px;"></a></div></div></div><p style="margin:1em 0px">In mid-September, <a href="http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20150917/NEWS/150919839/hudson-launches-its-high-speed-internet-system" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Hudson, Ohio launched</a> its <a href="http://www.hudsonvelocity.com/Business/Default.aspx" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Velocity Broadband service</a>, bringing 1 gig connectivity to a large business complex. The commercial site is the first in series of industrial areas where the city officials plan to bring the network in the coming years. The community, located near Akron, hopes to eventually bring Velocity Broadband to residential areas.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px">The network is already <a href="http://www.hudsonhubtimes.com/news%20local/2015/10/14/velocity-broadband-moving-faster-than-the-speed-of-the-internet" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">exceeding expectations</a>. Less than a month after the initial network launch, City Manager Jane Howington said local officials expect to surpass their goal of 50 customers by the end of 2015:</p><blockquote style="margin:1em 2em;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:0.9em;line-height:1.5em;font-style:italic"><p style="margin:1em 0px">"It's moving faster than we thought," said City Manager Jane Howington. "Demand has been much greater than we thought."</p></blockquote><p style="margin:1em 0px">Merchants are embracing Hudson’s new status as a “Gig City,” <a>offering “Giga Specials”</a> during the month of October and the city’s mayor declared October “Gigabit City Month.”</p><p style="margin:1em 0px"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/hudson-brings-velocity-businesses-ohio">... Hear More From Hudson at  this Link ...</a><br><br></p></div></div></div></div><div><h2 class="" style="line-height:1.3em;margin:0px 0px 0.5em;font-family:Tahoma,Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/small-town-coop-big-gig-connection" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);text-decoration:none">Small Town Coop, Big Gig Connection</a></h2><div class="" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-size:14px;font-style:italic;margin-bottom:10px;font-family:Verdana,Tahoma,'DejaVu Sans',sans-serif;line-height:18.004px"><span class="" style="font-size:0.9em">Wed, October 28, 2015 | Posted by <a href="http://muninetworks.org/users/tom-ernste" title="View user profile." style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Tom Ernste</a></span></div><div class="" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Tahoma,'DejaVu Sans',sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:18.004px"><div class="" style="float:left;margin:0px 10px 1em 0px"><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/small-town-coop-big-gig-connection" class="" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none"><img src="http://muninetworks.org/sites/www.muninetworks.org/files/imagecache/teaser/logo-nemont-coop.png" alt="" title="" width="125" height="49" class="" style="border: 0px;"></a></div></div></div><p style="margin:1em 0px">In an April 2015 <a href="http://www.nemont.net/announcement-detail.php?id=59" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">press release</a>, the telecommunications cooperative Nemont Communications announced their plans to make the small, rural town of <a href="http://www.scobeymt.com/scobey/" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Scobey, Montana</a> the first gigabit community in the state. The network will serve commercial, governmental, and residential customers in this Northeastern Montana town of just over 1,000 people. This speed increase to gig-level is a result of upgrades to the existing fiber network.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px">Scobey is inside of Nemont’s 14,000 square mile service territory where they began upgrades to fiber in 2007. The cooperative dates back to 1950 when farmers in the area organized to form their own telephone systems. The current service territory spans parts of Northeastern Montana, Northwestern North Dakota, South Central Montana, and Northern Wyoming. </p><p style="margin:1em 0px"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/small-town-coop-big-gig-connection">... Get the Big Story on the Small Town ...</a><br><br></p><h2 class="" style="line-height:1.3em;margin:0px 0px 0.5em;font-family:Tahoma,Arial,sans-serif"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/college-station-wants-competition-finds-it-their-fiber" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);text-decoration:none">College Station Wants Competition: Finds It In Their Fiber</a></h2><div class="" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-style:italic;margin-bottom:10px;line-height:18.004px"><span class="" style="font-size:0.9em">Thu, October 29, 2015 | Posted by <a href="http://muninetworks.org/users/lgonzalez" title="View user profile." style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">lgonzalez</a></span></div><div class="" style="line-height:18.004px"><div class="" style="float:left;margin:0px 10px 1em 0px"><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/college-station-wants-competition-finds-it-their-fiber" class="" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none"><img src="http://muninetworks.org/sites/www.muninetworks.org/files/imagecache/teaser/logo-collegestation-tx.jpg" alt="" title="" width="125" height="75" class="" style="border: 0px;"></a></div></div></div><p style="margin:1em 0px">Elected officials hope competition via city-owned fiber will give businesses and residents some connectivity headway in College Station, Texas.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px">The community will lease its city-owned fiber to local ISP, <a href="http://wirestar.servicezones.net/BCS" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">WireStar</a>, in order to foster local competition. City Councilmember James Benham <a href="http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/New-High-Speed-Internet-Coming-to-College-Station--334893401.html" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">told KBTX</a> that community leaders want high-speed connectivity for businesses and residents and want to create a competitive environment to encourage affordable prices. He described incumbent Suddenlink as "not always the best fit," pointing to the need for high-speed access in multi-family dwellings.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/college-station-wants-competition-finds-it-their-fiber">... Read More About Their Approach and their Partner ...</a></p></div></div></div><div><br></div><div><h2 class="" style="line-height:1.3em;margin:0px 0px 0.5em;font-family:Tahoma,Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/malkia-cyril-receives-2015-hugh-m-hefner-first-amendment-award" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);text-decoration:none">Malkia Cyril Receives 2015 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award</a></h2><div class="" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-size:14px;font-style:italic;margin-bottom:10px;font-family:Verdana,Tahoma,'DejaVu Sans',sans-serif;line-height:18.004px"><span class="" style="font-size:0.9em">Mon, October 26, 2015 | Posted by <a href="http://muninetworks.org/users/tom-ernste" title="View user profile." style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Tom Ernste</a></span></div><div class="" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Tahoma,'DejaVu Sans',sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:18.004px"><div class="" style="float:left;margin:0px 10px 1em 0px"><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/malkia-cyril-receives-2015-hugh-m-hefner-first-amendment-award" class="" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none"><img src="http://muninetworks.org/sites/www.muninetworks.org/files/imagecache/teaser/malkia-phone-justice.jpg" alt="" title="" width="125" height="120" class="" style="border: 0px;"></a></div></div></div><p style="margin:1em 0px">At a ceremony in early October, the <a href="http://hmhfoundation.org/site/" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Hugh M. Hefner Foundation</a> gave its 2015 First Amendment Award to Malkia Cyril, the Executive Director of the <a href="http://centerformediajustice.org/" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Center for Media Justice</a>. She received the award for her role as a network neutrality advocate and for emphasizing its connection to civil rights.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px">Malkia has also been recognized for her work as a co-founder of the Media Action Grassroots Network. Her writings on network neutrality and communications rights of prisoners have appeared in the Huffington Post, Politico, and a number of other publications.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/malkia-cyril-receives-2015-hugh-m-hefner-first-amendment-award">... Watch her Speech Here ...</a><br><br></p><h2 class="" style="line-height:1.3em;margin:0px 0px 0.5em;font-family:Tahoma,Arial,sans-serif"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/audio-available-financing-fiber-new-economy-conference-lexington" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);text-decoration:none">Audio Available: Financing Fiber for the New Economy Conference in Lexington</a></h2><div class="" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-style:italic;margin-bottom:10px;line-height:18.004px"><span class="" style="font-size:0.9em">Mon, November 02, 2015 | Posted by <a href="http://muninetworks.org/users/tom-ernste" title="View user profile." style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Tom Ernste</a></span></div><div class="" style="line-height:18.004px"><div class="" style="float:left;margin:0px 10px 1em 0px"><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/audio-available-financing-fiber-new-economy-conference-lexington" class="" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none"><img src="http://muninetworks.org/sites/www.muninetworks.org/files/imagecache/teaser/logo-next-century-cities.jpg" alt="" title="" width="125" height="47" class="" style="border: 0px;"></a></div></div></div><p style="margin:1em 0px">At a September conference in Lexington, Kentucky, Next Century Cities (NCC) hosted an influential and diverse group of leaders from the municipal broadband arena to share their experiences as leaders in community broadband. Four audio recordings, which <a href="http://nextcenturycities.org/resources/" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">you can find </a>on NCC’s website, include panel discussions on a variety of issues surrounding the topic of financing for next generation broadband.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px"><strong>Recording #1: “Lexington Mayor Jim Gray and the Kentucky Wired Story”</strong></p><p style="margin:1em 0px">In the first recording, Lexington Mayor Gray and the city’s Chief Information Officer discuss their ongoing efforts to <a href="http://muninetworks.org/tags/tags/lexington" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">make Lexington a gigabit city</a>. These efforts are part of a broader initiative also discussed on building a statewide <a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/12/23/kentucky-awards-contract-to-lay-3000-miles-fiber-cable-to-improve-internet-cell/" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">3,000 mile fiber optic ring</a>. Several Kentucky government leaders make remarks about the project, called <a href="http://finance.ky.gov/initiatives/nextgenkih/pages/default.aspx" style="color:rgb(121,80,37);text-decoration:none">Kentucky Wired</a>, including their thoughts about the public-private partnership model that is helping make the project possible.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px"><a href="http://muninetworks.org/content/audio-available-financing-fiber-new-economy-conference-lexington">... More Details on the Rest of the Recordings Here ...</a></p></div></div></div></div>

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