As you make plans for the fall, consider adding Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to your list. From September 30th to October 2nd, broadband experts, advocates, and practitioners will be gathering there for the Great Lakes Connect Broadband Development Conference.

The South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG), a group of 16 cities, has joined with Los Angeles County and will work with American Dark Fiber to develop a fiber optic network throughout the region.

Unclogging the Streets, Now and Tomorrow

Thanks to the Blandin on Broadband blog for bringing our attention to this story!

Alabama 

Broadband mapping effort to ramp up in Alabama — ‘Absolutely essential’ by Sean Ross, Yellowhammer News

Arkansas

Chicopee has not only reached their crossroad, they’re building it. After debating the pros and cons, the city of around 60,000 people in western Massachusetts recently began to develop their Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) residential pilot project.

When rural broadband advocates talk about the connectivity needs of farmers, they often discuss real-time crop prices, monitoring the status of fields, or the ability to submit data-intensive reports. An innovator in North Carolina has a different take on why fast, affordable, reliable connectivity is important to his ag-related business and it involves hog waste.

American Fork, Utah, wants to build an open access fiber network to all homes and businesses in the community of 26,000 people. The Daily Herald reports that the city

An increasing number of local communities are realizing that investing in publicly owned Internet network infrastructure will lead to better connectivity. In order to help these communities in the early planning stages, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and NEO Partners LLC have developed the Community Networks Quickstart Program.

Grays Harbor County Public Utility District (PUD) in Washington state has just finished a fiber optic network to local schools and a local industrial park.

Alabama

Government grant will help provide broadband access to Coosa County residents by Sean Ross, Yellowhammer News

We are saddened to learn that two quiet champions of broadband have passed away — one recently and one about a year ago, although we only recently learned of his passing. Drew Davis of Larimer County, Colorado, and Larry Gates from Chanute, Kansas, performed the heavy lifting behind the scenes to help move their communities forward with essential investments.

When utilities, including broadband providers, need to cross railroad rights-of-way to serve customers, some railroad operators have been known to press their advantage. Several states have addressed utility complaints by establishing standardized rates and setting up processes to create a more reasonable and predictable system.