PC magazine ranks Longmont third nationally for internet speeds

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by Joshua Lindenstein on September 1, 2016

LONGMONT – The rollout of Longmont’s NextLight municipal broadband service continues to put the city on the map as it relates to the fastest available Internet speeds nationwide.

PC magazine this week ranked Longmont third in the country among cities with the fastest average Internet upload and download speeds based on tests conducted by the publication. Only Kansas City, Mo. — one of the seven cities where Google Fiber offers its gigabit service — and Deltona, Fla., topped Longmont on the list. Continue reading

Redzone Wireless, LLC Announces New $1M Municipal Broadband Funding Program to Improve Rural Maine Communities’ Internet Development Options

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ROCKLAND, Maine, July 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — Redzone Wireless, LLC, a Maine-based Broadband provider, announced an innovative new funding program for rural municipalities seeking to increase high speed internet performance and service availability within their community, and has committed $1M in initial project funding for 2017.

Photo – Redzone’s “Fast for 5” program will provide 100% funded community wireless broadband systems, completely designed, constructed, and managed by Redzone Wireless, in exchange for the local community guaranteeing a minimum level of broadband services for a 5-year term. Continue reading

Proposed FCC regulation Limits Indian Country’s Access to Internet

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Ross Racine (Blackfeet)

When the FCC reclassified broadband services, they stated that they were not going to get into price regulation. As expected, they did not keep their word and are now manipulating the prices in a free market. What Ross mentions below are the unintended consequences of price regulation.

By Ross Racine

When it comes to internet access, Native American and Alaskan tribes are among the least connected in our country. An analysis by the White House Council of Economic Advisers found that along with the rural South, portions of the Southwest, predominately home to Indian communities, are amongst the lowest connected regions. Continue reading

Gigabit Internet: Surveying the Landscape

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Gigabit Internet has become such a hot topic that related announcements seem to be coming out at, well, gigabit speeds. To help interested parties keep track, Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) has released a gigabit tracking database, dubbed appropriately, Gigabit Monitor, available at http://www.gigabitmonitor.com. The visual database references current and planned gigabit deployments around the world, from mobile, cable and telco service providers. Continue reading

Broadband could be $125M effort for Fort Collins

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Fort Collins, facing west (1875)

Fort Collins, facing west (1875) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Apparently no one properly explained how the wholesale model could be the best option for Fort Collins. Using a wholesale model, the city can attract multiple service providers from local to regional carriers that could boost their utilization well over 30%. Another benefit is that they do not have to keep up the technology arms race that Comcast and CenturyLink will be sure to start. Their consultant really should provide them better advice on the wholesale option.

, [email protected]

Fort Collins residents love their internet. And like technology consumers everywhere, they want their connection to be fast, cheap and reliable. Continue reading

After Legal Defeat, US Mayors Vow to Continue Municipal Broadband Fight

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WRITTEN BY SAM GUSTIN

Two weeks after a federal court dealt a major blow to municipal broadband advocates, dozens of US mayors and city leaders vowed on Wednesday to continue the fight for local control of next-generation communications networks.

These community leaders are speaking out after the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the Federal Communications Commission lacks the authority to preempt state laws that pose barriers to municipal broadband development. Continue reading

Phoenix Center Skewers Chattanooga Mayor’s Claims for Muni Broadband

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By: John Eggerton

Phoenix Center chief economist George Ford has taken issue with a story in The Tennessean newspaper in which Chattanooga, Tenn., Mayor Andy Berke touted the economic benefits of its municipal fiber network.

A federal appeals court recently rejected the FCC‘s preemption of a Tennessee state law limiting the expansion of that city network, but the story preceded that decision and made no mention of it. Continue reading