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Community Broadband Media Roundup - May 18
California
Partnerships can close the digital divide by Apoorva Pasricha & Kevin Frazier, GovTech
Colorado
Two New Communications Districts Join Vermont’s Growing Community Broadband Effort
In March, we reported on the formation of Deerfield Valley Communications Union District in Vermont.
Fact Checking Yet Another Misleading, Mistake-Riddled Report From the Taxpayers Protection Alliance
In their recent, biased report bashing community broadband, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) alleges that municipal broadband networks are “GON With the Wind,” but it’s really the report’s authors who have run off with reality. To counter TPA’s erroneous and misleading claims, the Community Broadband Networks initiative has prepared a response to the report in which we summarize its many shortcomings and errors.
New Book “The Future Is Public” Features Chapter on Municipal Broadband
Yesterday, the Transnational Institute (TNI) released The Future Is Public, a book that explores international municipalization efforts and the benefits of public ownership.
ILSR Challenges Frontier's Attempt to Block Rural Broadband Upgrades
Late last month, we reported on Frontier Communications’ claim that it now offers broadband in 17,000 rural census blocks in an effort to remove those areas from the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) upcoming rural broadband funding program.
Explore the Basics of Broadband with Merit and ILSR’s Christopher Mitchell
Merit Network is hosting a weekly Michigan Moonshot Educational Series in the lead-up to their Broadband Summit this fall, and as part of the programming, Director of Community Broadband Networks initiative Christopher Mitchell recently hosted a webinar called “Exploring the Basics of Broadband.” Aimed at community leaders
ILSR’s Christopher Mitchell Joins 1A to Discuss Pandemic, Rural Digital Divide
Earlier this week, Community Broadband Networks Director Christopher Mitchell joined the radio talk show 1A, distributed by NPR, to talk about poor connectivity in rural America and how the Covid-19 pandemic is exacerbating existing digital divides. U.S.
Glenwood Springs Continues Its Tradition of Looking Ahead With Fiber Network Expansion
Lighting up the first phase of middle-mile network Project THOR isn’t the only good news coming out of northwest Colorado recently. Glenwood Springs, a city of 10,000 forty-five minutes north of Aspen, is once again looking to secure the future of its information infrastructure. In a recent 6-1 decision, the city council voted to replace and expand the reach of its existing fiber system, which currently serves businesses and a select number of residents.
Minnesota Legislature Considers Broadband Funding in Bipartisan Covid-19 Response
In response to the increased reliance on connectivity precipitated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Minnesota Legislature is working on legislation to improve access to broadband, online education, and telehealth services throughout the state.
Case Study Shows How Local Providers Built World-Class Broadband in Rural North Dakota
A recent case study from the Community Broadband Networks initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) finds that rural North Dakotans are more likely to have access to fiber connectivity and gigabit-speed Internet than those living in urban areas.
Mississippi Co-op Members and State Official Protest After Board of Directors Rejects Broadband Project
The Daily Journal reported last week on one co-op, Pontotoc Electric Power Association (PEPA), that has chosen not to invest in broadband at this time, citing high costs. PEPA's decision faces strong opposition from some of its members as well as a commissioner from the Mississippi Public Service Commission. Critics claim that cooperative leaders did not fully consider all of the possibilities, and they take issue with the board’s choice to hold the vote during a closed meeting without issuing public notice.