Video on the Economics of Open Access

ILSR's Christopher Mitchell offers insights on Superior, Wisconsin's new city-owned network and how federal policy, municipal broadband barriers and Tribal networks fit into the picture.

The second installment in the ongoing Community Broadband Film Series spotlights “Rocketeers: The UTOPIA Fiber Story” – an eye-opening documentary that tells the story of how a publicly-owned fiber network has ignited local Internet choice and competition across dozens of cities. The event will begin with a screening of the 24-minute film and then treat attendees to a live Red Carpet discussion with UTOPIA Fiber CEO Roger Timmerman and key leaders of two communities that are now part of the fast growing UTOPIA network – Sid Boswell, CEO of Yellowstone Fiber in Bozeman, Montana; and Bountiful, Utah Councilmember Kate Bradshaw.

Officials in Bountiful, Utah say they’ve completed the city’s $48 million open access fiber network a year ahead of schedule, bringing fast, affordable broadband access to the Salt Lake City suburb of 45,000. The city of Bountiful owns the network while UTOPIA designed, built and manages the network and takes a share of the revenue.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors recently announced that it has approved a list of new affordable housing sites that are eligible to receive free Internet for one year. According to the county, 556 low-income Sonoma County households across 10 different housing locations should qualify for the free broadband service.

The remote West Texas city of Monahans has spent the last decade taking matters into their own hands and now the city’s 7,500 residents are headed for the right side of the digital divide. The city’s network build is in partnership with Hosted America, which is acting as the first last mile ISP serving residents.

Clallam County, Washington and Astound Broadband have begun construction on a major new joint partnership that will bring affordable fiber access to more than 1,500 homes across the largely rural Northwestern part of The Evergreen State. The deployment is a joint collaboration between The Public Utility District (PUD) No. 1 of Clallam County, Astound Broadband, and the Northwest Open Access Network (NOANet), a nonprofit coalition developed by regional Washington Communications Utility Districts (CUD) to bring more reliable, affordable fiber access to neglected rural Washington communities.