Community Internet

Show Me the Money (Financing) in Broadband

Lindsy Embree — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:39:12 -0400

Full article: GigaOM
Craig Settles
Few people question the need for broadband and the value it can bring to a community. However, for proponents of community broadband networks, the challenges of financing buildouts, generating revenues, and ensuring a network's long-term financial security are ones not easily resolved. So who's going to pay for community broadband networks?

Monticello, MN Beats the Phone Company; Internet a Utility

Lindsy Embree — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:23:42 -0400

Full article: Ars Technica
Nate Anderson
Monticello, Minn. hoped to set state precedent by building its own fiber-to-the-home link for every resident in town. The phone company sued, but after a year in litigation, the state Court of Appeals has ruled that Internet is indeed a "utility" that can be provided by local communities and funded by city bonds.

Libraries Extending Efforts to Secure Federal Money for High-Speed Internet

Stevie Converse — Tue, 19 May 2009 08:54:16 -0400

Full article: Speed Matters
As the need for high-speed Internet service grows, America's public libraries have begun to step up efforts to secure federal funding to upgrade their own network infrastructure.

Let's Bury This Bad Bill for Good

Alex Kahn — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:41:28 -0400

AT&T and Time Warner Cable tried to force legislation through North Carolina's statehouse that would stifle Internet access for millions of people. But North Carolinians across the state stood up and stopped it...for now.

Time Warner, Embarq Fight to Outlaw 100 Mbps Community Broadband in Wilson, N.C.

Lindsy Embree — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:03:58 -0400

Full article: DailyTech
Jason Mick
When the city of Wilson, N.C., launched an ambitious program to deliver broadband services at much lower rates than local providers Time Warner Cable and Embarq, the larger ISPs decided to take the issue to the state government -- lobbying for years to get the state government to pass laws to try to destroy the local effort.

MAIN to Present Strategic Plan

Stevie Converse — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:44:53 -0500

Full article: Asheville Citizen-Times
"MAIN 2.0: Next Generation Community Network" will be presented Feb 3, at 6 p.m. by Wally Bowen at Pack Library's Lord Auditorium in downtown Asheville, N.C.

Alliance of West Virginia Champion Communities

Neal Bastek — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:55:39 -0500

Established in 1993, the Alliance recognizes the need for rural communities to have access to effective technology resources. We believe all people deserve knowledge of and access to emerging technologies so they may use these tools to shape their own destinies.

Palo Alto Fiber-Optic Project Is the Right Kind of Economic Development

Stevie Converse — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:06:15 -0400

Full article: San Jose Mercury News
Chris O'Brien
In a time of severe belt-tightening and modest thinking, the city of Palo Alto is about to make an ambitious bet on its future. The city is negotiating a deal with a consortium of tech companies to build out an ultra-high-speed broadband network that would deliver blazing fast 100 mbps connections to every home and business in Palo Alto.

Free Wi-Fi in San Francisco Expands to Tenderloin

Holiday Shapiro — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:27:09 -0400

Full article: San Francisco Chronicle
Erin Allday, Audrey Cooper, Jill Tucker
Mayor Gavin Newsom announced the expansion of a free wireless network to the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, and a handful of nonprofits are working on providing free or very low-cost refurbished laptops and PCs to residents there.

A different way of covering an election

DChinni — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:01:00 -0400

It's already clear that is election isn't going to be like others so we need to think about how to cover it differently. I'm not talking about replacing what's out there, but at least adding to it.