Three years after Centennial voters approved a measure clearing the city to explore building its own broadband network, a Canadian company is asking, will you pre-order gigabit internet for $89 a month?
If enough people bite, Ting Internet will bring its fiber-optic network to residents of the city as early as next year. Continue reading
English: Availability of 4 Mbps-Capable Broadband Networks in the United States by County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Carl’s opinion piece is clearly in support of an industry that is very happy to sell equipment to these new customers because the incumbent telco business is not growing very fast, if at all. Allowing government to offer communications services in a particular market is not competing; it is taking it over because they can use bonds (low interest) and taxpayer money to fund these networks. State legislators have created these laws to prevent just these things from happening along with providing protection when half of these ventures go bankrupt.
Telcos are not clean on this because they are using crony capitalism to protect their monopoly or duopoly. If legislators enact such laws they should hold incumbents to the universal service agreement that AT&T adhered for decades.
I appreciate that the Daily Camera dedicated so many inches to this topic, but they missed the point that one of the options is that the city provides fiber access to other communications companies that will actually sell services to consumers and businesses. This open-access option is preferred because it allows for greater choice of services and price competition. Additionally it keeps the city out of business of delivering communications services which is fast moving.
Open-access reduces the risk to the city in this venture because it sells infrastructure that all communications providers require including CenturyLink and Comcast. EBP is always used as the poster child of a successful deployment but there are just as many municipal failures like UTOPIA. Even Longmont failed 3 other times in their broadband venture. Selling/leasing the infrastructure to deliver services is more likely to be financially successful for the city, and it will benefit consumers as well. CTC mentioned that there are several service providers willing to offer Internet, phone, and even video services to Boulder residents. I hope that the city makes the best decision and opts for an open-access network. Continue reading
LEXINGTON, Kentucky, September 16, 2015 – Fiber-optics is now the default mode for deploying high-speed internet throughout the country, even including rural areas, said the head of the Federal Communications Commission‘s office of strategic planning.
Everywhere the country has been able to get an electric line, it ought to be able to get a fiber cable, said Jonathan Chambers, chief of the office, widely regarded as the FCC think tank for technological advancement. Continue reading
Spinning Optical Fiber (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
BOSTON, MA — Business fiber penetration of commercial buildings in the U.S. increased to 42.5 percent in 2014, according to latest research from Vertical Systems Group. This compares to a penetration rate of only 10.9 percent in 2004. These statistics measure fiber availability at company-owned and multi-tenant buildings with twenty or more employees, which covers more than two million individual business establishments.
“Accessibility to fiber-based business services in the U.S. nearly quadrupled between 2004 and 2014, with hundreds of thousands of sites newly fiber-connected during this time period. As a result of this growth, our fiber penetration benchmark now exceeds 40 percent for the first time,” said Rosemary Cochran, principal at Vertical Systems Group. “Looking forward, the high stakes endgame for network operators is to deepen and broaden their service infrastructures around fiber – the future of wireline.” Continue reading
Frustrated with the “dismal” level of high-speed Internet access available to local residents and businesses, the state of Kentucky has engaged Macquarie Capital to finance and oversee the construction of a fiber backbone that would extend throughout the state.
The project could cost anywhere from $250 million to $350 million. The state said the project will be paid for up front by leveraging private capital at no additional cost to Kentucky taxpayers. Continue reading
At least the mayor of Provo realizes the benefits of the network and is looking for ways to continue its existence should Veracity default.
Provo Mayor John Curtis said he is following the Boy Scout motto to be prepared when it comes to the future of the city’s fiber optic network.
The Municipal Council made another move towards the mayor’s working contingency plan, or Plan B, at Tuesday’s Council meeting. The council voted to appropriate $50,000 from the city’s fund balance to hire two consulting firms to help develop the plan.
For nearly a year city administrators have been discussing the need to have a plan B if the need should arise. It’s something they haven’t had since iProvo was sold.
