[grc] Ban on municipal broadband lifted

Sun Nov 15 21:40:33 PST 2015

Dear all - I assume some of you might have seen this excellent article about
Chattanooga and its internet as a public utility but if not here is a link.

How blazing Internet speeds helped Chattanooga shed its smokestack past
http://www.cnet.com/news/how-blazing-internet-speeds-helped-chattanooga-shed
-its-smokestack-past/

Heather Gray
Atlanta

From:  Sabrina Roach <sabrinadroach at gmail.com>
Date:  Sunday, November 15, 2015 at 11:39 PM
To:  Heather Gray <hmcgray at earthlink.net>
Cc:  Tom Voorhees <juice at whidbey.com>, GRC <grc at maillist.peak.org>
Subject:  Re: [grc] Ban on municipal broadband lifted

I heard about that, but I don't think it happened. I couldn't find anything
about it online either.

On Sun, Nov 15, 2015 at 8:20 PM, Heather Gray <hmcgray at earthlink.net> wrote:
> Sabrina - I see that last year Seattle was to vote on providing broadband to
> homeless camps. Did that happen? Here's the link to an article
> 
> http://news.yahoo.com/seattle-councillors-vote-funding-internet-access-homeles
> s-camps-140125272.html
> 
> Heather Gray
> Atlanta 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Nov 15, 2015, at 6:35 PM, Sabrina Roach <sabrinadroach at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Tom,
>> 
>> I'm so excited to see you post this piece about the big municipal broadband
>> win in Colorado.
>> 
>> I see municipal broadband and community media as closely linked, so I
>> initiated a campaign called  Upgrade Seattle.
>> 
>> We worked with our city council to amend our mayor's proposed budget to
>> include a 5 M municipal broadband pilot project. They vote tomorrow! Keep
>> your fingers crossed.
>> 
>> Best,
>> Sabrina
>> 
>> PS: Posting about it to social media helps.
>> 
>> Coverage:
>> 
>> Puget Sound Business Journal
>> http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/11/seattle-council-to-
>> vote-on-municipal-broadband.html
>> 
>> The Stranger
>> http://www.thestranger.com/blogs/slog/2015/11/09/23128952/small-businesses-fa
>> ce-internet-dead-zone-in-sodo-after-sprint-shutters-wireless-network
>> 
>> Geekwire
>> http://www.geekwire.com/2015/seattle-officials-debate-5m-proposal-to-test-mun
>> icipal-broadband-in-one-part-of-town/
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Sun, Nov 15, 2015 at 1:32 PM, Tom Voorhees <juice at whidbey.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> FYI
>>> There is some hope for the future !
>>> Tom.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/seven-colorado-cities-counties-lift-10-ye
>>> ar-ban-municipal-broadband-investm/2015-11-04?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=inter
>>> nal
>>> [1]
>>> TWENTY SIX COLORADO CITIES, 17 COUNTIES LIFT 10-YEAR BAN ON MUNICIPAL
>>> BROADBAND INVESTMENT
>>> 
>>> November 4, 2015 | By Sean Buckley [2]
>>> 
>>> The municipal broadband movement got a boost in Colorado as residents in 26
>>> cities and towns and 17 counties voted to overturn a law that limited local
>>> communities from building a broadband business even in areas where
>>> incumbent telcos and cable operators have refused to upgrade facilities.
>>> 
>>> While there are over two dozen states that have laws on the books limiting
>>> local government from offering broadband services -- a number of which have
>>> been driven by the local cable operators and telcos like Comcast (NASDAQ:
>>> CMCSA [3]) and AT&T (NYSE: T [4]) -- Colorado's law stands out from other
>>> states.
>>> 
>>> Under the 2005 state law, a municipality can build their own broadband
>>> network if "an election shall be called" and a majority of voters approve
>>> it.
>>> 
>>> The majority of voters supported local measures with over 70 percent of
>>> ballots cast. The ballot measure passed overwhelmingly in all 43 cities and
>>> counties where voters considered it.
>>> 
>>> Among some of the areas were Durango where over 90 percent of voters chose
>>> to opt out of restrictive SB 152. Likewise, Telluride voters affirmed their
>>> commitment to local authority when over 93 percent of votes supported
>>> measure 2B.
>>> 
>>> A call to repeal restrictions on municipal broadband is not relegated just
>>> to Colorado. Similar initiatives have been called for in North Carolina and
>>> Tennessee, for example
>>> 
>>> In February, the FCC moved to preempt [5] elements of state laws in North
>>> Carolina and Tennessee that were designed to restrict municipal providers
>>> in these communities from providing broadband service outside of their
>>> current serving areas. This move could drive other states to act and could
>>> result in court challenges.
>>> 
>>> Meanwhile, a group of mayors from New Haven, West Hartford and Stamford,
>>> Conn., have come together in hopes of creating a 1 Gbps-capable open access
>>> fiber-to-the-premises network for the state.
>>> 
>>> For more:
>>> - _The Denver Post _has this article [6]
>>> - here's a complete list [7] of communities
>>> 
>>> Related articles:
>>> Colorado communities band together to eliminate municipal broadband
>>> restrictions [8]
>>> Seven Colorado cities get green light to build municipal broadband networks
>>> [9]
>>> Baltimore mulls its own municipal broadband plan [10]
>>> Connecticut mayors make call for 1 Gig broadband open access network [11]
>>> Republicans rail against FCC Chairman Wheeler's municipal-broadband
>>> proposals [12]
>>> Fiber hunter: How to improve Internet access by digging up forgotten fiber
>>> lines [13]
>>> Longmont, Colo., employs Calix for its 1 Gbps FTTH network [14] _This
>>> article was updated on Nov. 5 to reflect that it was 26 communities that
>>> made the vote._
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Links:
>>> ------
>>> [1]
>>> http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/seven-colorado-cities-counties-lift-10-ye
>>> ar-ban-municipal-broadband-investm/2015-11-04?utm_medium=nl&amp;utm_source=i
>>> nternal
>>> [2] http://www.fiercetelecom.com/author/sbuckley
>>> [3] http://www.fiercecable.com/tags/comcast
>>> [4] http://www.fiercewireless.com/tags/att-0
>>> [5]
>>> http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/fcc-ruling-overturns-state-laws-preventin
>>> g-municipal-broadband-expansion/2015-02-26
>>> [6]
>>> http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29053351/colorado-communities-trying-lift-
>>> limits-municipal-broadband
>>> [7] http://muninetworks.org/content/voters-quiet-drums-polls-colorado
>>> [8]
>>> http://fiercetelecom.com/story/colorado-communities-band-together-eliminate-
>>> municipal-broadband-restrictio/2015-11-03
>>> [9]
>>> http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/seven-colorado-cities-get-green-light-bui
>>> ld-municipal-broadband-networks/2014-11-07
>>> [10]
>>> http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/baltimore-mulls-its-own-municipal-broadba
>>> nd-plan/2014-09-22
>>> [11]
>>> http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/connecticut-mayors-make-call-1-gig-broadb
>>> and-open-access-network/2014-09-16
>>> [12]
>>> http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/republicans-rail-against-fcc-chairman-whe
>>> elers-municipal-broadband-proposal/2014-08-22
>>> [13]
>>> http://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-reports/fiber-hunter-how-improve-intern
>>> et-access-digging-forgotten-fiber-lines
>>> [14]
>>> http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/longmont-colo-employs-calix-its-1-gbps-ft
>>> th-network/2014-06-23
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> grc mailing list
>>> grc at maillist.peak.org
>>> http://maillist.peak.org/mailman/listinfo/grc
>>> 
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