Baltimore Ponders Muni Fiber Network
Another community has announced that with or without Google, it is going to build a proper broadband network.
Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
News
Do your Representatives Know Your Views on Broadband?
As I have considered writing yet another post about this debacle in North Carolina, I worried that readers outside of North Carolina might ignore it, thinking they cannot help and it doesn't impact them.
Chattanooga Launches Fastest Residential Broadband Tier: 150Mbps
It's fast and it's symmetrical. Chattanooga, the nation's largest muni FTTH network will be offering the fastest residential package in the country by the end of the month: 150 Mbps.
Chattanooga's Electric Power Board (EPB) is ahead of schedule in the fiber rollout, planning to offer triple-play services to all 145,000 residential customers in its electrical territory by the end of the year.
Christopher Mitchell Presentation at FiberFête in Lafayette
This is a presentation I gave at FiberFête on April 20 in Lafayette, Louisiana. Unfortunately, the slides are not available in the recording, but most of my comments do not rely upon them.
North Carolina Bill to Limit Broadband Competition Moves Forward
Update: Thanks to Mark Turner (@mtdotnet) for tape-delayed tweets updating what happened. He has reported: "Senator Joe Sam Queen objects to third reading of S.1209! It remains on the calendar!" This can still be stopped in the Senate.
Deja Vu All Over Again: NC Committee Considers Moratorium Today
Update: Once, again, the committee has pushed the bill back... now to Wednesday afternoon. One wonders how normal people with jobs are supposed to follow legislation live when they have no certainty when a specific subject will be discussed.
Housekeeping: Recent Changes on MuniNetworks.org
It has been a year now that MuniNetworks.org has been live. For those who only read the feed, we have updated the logo on top of the site to make it more attractive. When we launched the site, we threw the theme together quickly and focused on getting good content.
Seattle's Chief Geek: Broadband Monopoly Keeps Costs Too High
Bill Schrier, Seattle's Chief Technology Officer (informally, Chief Geek), recently explored the ways in which limited competition in broadband has kept prices too high for many Americans and suggests high prices should be a cause for concern on the level of network neutrality.
North Carolina Action Alert - Committee Vote Today
Update: Apparently the bill was pulled from the Committee today.
Johnson City Considers Broadband Network to Aid Economic Development
According to the local paper, Johnson City, Tennessee, continues to discuss whether its public power utility should build a FTTH network.
As with so many other communities that have only "high speed" cable and DSL options, people are recognizing the importance of broadband on economic development.
Time Warner Anti-Competition Bill in North Carolina Gets Introduced: S1209
The latest attack on publicly owned broadband networks in North Carolina now has an official name - S1209: No Nonvoted Local Debt For Competing System and will apparently be debated in committee next week.
Local TV Covers Salisbury FTTH Network
This video is no longer available.
Palm Coast FiberNET Opens for Business
The nation's newest open access network opened for business this week - Palm Coast FiberNET in Florida. This network is intended to serve businesses and is not currently a FTTH build.
If Only George Carlin Were Here
Connected Nation and the utter lack of accurate maps depicting broadband options and metrics in this country reminded me of possibly my favorite comedian. George Carlin had a great routine about airlines and the safety speech given by flight attendants.
Chelan PUD, Citizens, Ponder Fiber Expansion in Rural Washington
The Chelan Public Utility District in Washington began its county-wide fiber-optic network build. They have since passed some 80% of the county but are temporarily pausing expansion efforts. Chelan is a rural county and the network is not expected to break even for quite some time.
In Washington, state law limits the powers of public utility districts to offer broadband.
UTOPIA Pursues Additional Funding
UTOPIA, the open access FTTH network in several cities of Utah, has been seeking some $20 million to continue adding new subscribers to the network. The cities involved seem to be on board, committing to the funding following recent successes.
Fiber Down Under: Australia Plans Publicly Owned Open Access Network
Australia is planning to build a nationwide open access network that will be owned by the public. Ars Technica recently covered their progress - Australia has released a consultant report on the proposed network.
North Carolina Video of Committee Hearing to Preempt Communities
"My issue is that cities should not be competing with private enterprise." - Senator Hoyle of North Carolina
Given this Senator's opposition to the public sector competing with the private sector, I assume he is fighting just as hard to shut down the libraries (or have Borders and Barnes and Noble neglected to donate enough to his candidacy?), as well as the schools (there are pr
OneCommunity: A Bit of Background
KMOX, a station from St. Louis, recently asked what Ohio's OneCommunity did correctly in building a regional broadband network. The article is interesting for some background on OneCommunity, but the discussion of what St.
Highland, Illinois, Begins Building Fiber Network
Back in early March, Highland Illinois, broke ground on its publicly owned FTTH network project. Plans call for connecting some businesses by the end of this year and connecting everyone by the end of 2011.
KMOV in St.