The Editorial Board of the Seattle Times wants Mayor Ed Murray and his administration to put affordability and ubiquitous access near the top of the list as it considers a municipal fiber network. In a May 7th editorial, the Board acknowledged that Internet access in the City is available, but apparently not at affordable rates for everyone. 

One of the next topics for Seattle Mayor Ed Murray to address is whether taxpayers in Software City should support a new broadband network.

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But any attempt to create the broadband equivalent of Seattle City Light should be planned from the start as a citywide service, providing the same quality to everyone in the jurisdiction.

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Rates for city broadband must be kept low enough to be accessible and appealing. This would be a challenge for a city that’s found ways to load utility bills.

A city broadband network may be worthwhile if it offers something unique and of great public value. Leveling the playing field and providing top quality service to everyone would meet this criteria.

Read the full editorial here!

There are probably more mesh Wi-Fi networks operating in the U.S. than most of us realize. They require only one hard-wired connection to the Internet and there are many industrious, tech minded people out there who have the skills to set up this self-healing technology, though they are still working out the kinks.

A mesh network allows devices to engage each other without going through a central point. If I want to use my cell phone to call the cell phone of someone standing 10 feet away from me, the signal may travel thousands of times farther than it would have to because a cell phone company wants to track minutes, collect data, and more. In a mesh network, the two devices would just talk to each other without intermediation. 

A recent Technical.ly article, explores a dozen communities that are using the technology to serve local residents.

The article provides some basic info on these local mesh networks:

• Redhook Wifi, Brooklyn
• Bamboowifi, Philadelphia
• SMesh, Baltimore
• Meta Mesh, Pittsburgh
• Digital Stewards, Detroit
• NYCWireless, New York City
• Personal Telco, Portland, Oregon
• MileMesh, Hoboken, N.J.
• Wasabinet, St. Louis
• TFA Wireless, Houston
• Meshnet Project, Seattle
• La Canada Wireless Association (LCWA, Santa Fe)

We have reported on mesh networks in Poulsbo, Washington, and Ponca City, Oklahoma. An attractive feature for those communities was the ability to expand the network as needed with modest investment. As Technical.ly reports:

Seattleites tired of waiting for incumbents to provide better services, have decided to launch a campaign to establish Internet access as a public utility. In order to get the campaign off to a strong start, the founding group has launched a survey to choose a name.

Seattle has significant fiber resources in place, an electric utility, and strong grassroots support. Unfortunately, incumbent Comcast has been trying to curry favor within City Hall. But given that Seattle has joined Next Century Cities, the City seems focused on exploring all of its options.

When Chris presented in Seattle, he strongly encouraged them to organize a grassroots effort to support a community network. Now, a group of community organizers, artists, tech workers, and students are taking the next step forward because:

A 2014 report by the city found that "nearly 20% of Seattle residents do not have any Internet access.” Entire neighborhoods still lack access to Internet speeds necessary to take part in the modern economy. Without access, residents may not be able to apply for jobs, utilize city websites, finish their homework, operate a small business, display art, shop online, or video chat with a doctor from the comfort of their homes.    

Even those with home access to Internet have too few options. The same city report showed that 45% of residents wanted better prices, and 33% wanted higher speeds than currently offered by the two dominant Internet providers: Comcast and CenturyLink.  

Some of the names they suggest are "Seattle for Homegrown Internet," "Connecting Seattle," and "Seattle's Own Internet." They also offer the chance for participants to offer their own ideas.

This week in community broadband, more communities are adding broadband to the list of essential utilities, and many of them are turning to Chattanooga as a model “gig city.”

As Times Free Press’s Dave Flessner reports, the great thing about Chattanooga's approach is that it’s not just about Internet. In fact, the broadband boom is really an unintended benefit of the city’s cutting edge smart grid, which keeps the city’s lights on and powers the economy as well. 

"What we're going to try to do is bring some of the brilliant people from Warner Bros., Fox, Disney and IBM down here to Chattanooga to help them get their heads wrapped around this notion that you've got to stop worrying about scarcity," [Annenberg Innovation Lab director Jonathan] Taplan said.

Last year, T-Bone Burnett, a Grammy Award winner, performed "The Wild Side of Life" from a Los Angeles studio with Chuck Mead, a founder of the band BR549 who was on stage in Chattanooga.

"They sang a song together over 2,000 miles apart," Taplin said. "That's the power of gigabit Internet. I think we're just beginning to think of the possibilities of what this thing can do."

And Android Authority’s William Neilson Jr. explores the desire for faster connections and more choices.

“Isn’t it amazing how much faster broadband speeds are in parts of the country where there are a number of broadband options available to residents? How many times am I going to write an article detailing a broadband provider telling a city that they don’t need “fast” speeds even though the city is universally angry at their lack of broadband options?”

Of course, we see the product of how increased competition brings better service even more clearly in communities that have municipal networks, not just in Google's Kansas City network. It is an outcome that all communities can achieve if they regain the authority to do so. 

On October 8th, Chris visited the Emerald City to present his thoughts on a municipal network in Seattle. He was a guest of the Seattle Citizens' Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board at their Broadband Education Public Forum, cosponsored by Brown Paper Tickets.

Seattle has sought better connectivity for some time and has tossed around the idea of a municipal network. Residents and businesses have expressed their concern and Seattlites are mobilizing. The Seattle Citizens' Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board is in place to collect input from the community, research, and make recommendations to community leaders. They regularly host experts like Chris to educate the Seattle community as they look for ways to improve affordable access for residents and businesses.

Chris was there for a lunch time event and an evening session. The evening session, titled Exploring Municipal Broadband In Seattle with Chris Mitchell, is now archived and available to view on the Seattle Channel.

We want to thank both Brown Paper Tickets and CTTAB for the opportunity. In particular, Brown Paper Tickets deserves recognition for being a private company taking a leading roll in organizing for better Internet for everyone.

Two events in October will bring Chris and other telecommunications policy leaders to the State of Washington. 

On October 8th, the Seattle Citizens' Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board is hosting Lunch & Learn: Chris Mitchell on community-owned networks and municipal broadband in Seattle. The free event will be held in Seattle City Hall at noon; you can register online at the website.

There will also be an evening forum, also located in City Hall, that runs from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. You can still register online for the free evening session, titled Exploring Municipal Broadband in Seattle with Chris Mitchell.

As our readers know, Seattle has pursued better connectivity for some time and the idea of publicly owned infrastructure is not a new idea in the Emerald City. Chris will be presenting his thoughts on the possibility of a municipal network.

The next day, Chris visits Mount Vernon for the Connect with the World event. The October 9th conference focuses on creating a tech friendly environment for economic development, better educational opportunities, and improved healthcare. The full agenda [PDF] is available online and registration is still open. The program runs from 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at Skagit Valley College.

Mount Vernon's open access network provides an infrastructure for several ISPs. The network slashes the community's telecommunications costs and attracts employers in fields such as healthcare, aerospace, and engineering. The network also serves the communities of Burlington and the Port of Skagit.

In a recent SLOG post from the Stranger, Ansel Herz commented on Mayor Ed Murray's recent statement on broadband in Seattle. Murray's statement included:

Finding a job, getting a competitive education, participating in our democracy, or even going to work for some, requires high speed internet access. I have seen people say online, "I don’t need a road to get to work, I need high speed internet." Seattle would never leave the construction of roads up to a private monopoly, nor should we allow the City’s internet access to be constructed and managed by a private monopoly.

It is incredibly clear to me and residents throughout the City of Seattle, that the City’s current high speed internet options are not dependable enough, are cost prohibitive for many, and have few (if any) competitive options.

The Mayor also hinted that if the City needs a municipal broadband network, he would "help lead the way."

As a Seattleite, Herz knows firsthand about the lack of connectivity options in the area. Herz writes:

This is both encouraging and disappointingly tentative language from the mayor. It seems to cast municipal broadband as a last resort. Municipal broadband is a no-f*cking-brainer. [our *]

Herz turned to Chris for perspective:

"I have seen this from many Mayors who talk about how someone should do something but we don't always see concrete actions because of the difficulty and the immense opposition from some powerful companies like Comcast," Christopher Mitchell, the Director of the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative, who's worked with cities across the country on this question, tells me.

Seattle doesn't know what to expect from a Mayor that Comcast tried to buy (we suspect they did not succeed but have nonetheless sent a loud message). It is encouraging to see that the issue has not simply disappeared, but Herz and his neighbors want more: