ILSR launches NetworkStPaul.com. This new web site will serve as a clearinghouse and resource for the push to build a community-owned fiber-to-the-home network in St. Paul.
At a time when most of the United States has slower, more expensive Internet connections than our overseas competitors, communities across the country have responded with initiatives to build the infrastructure of the 21st century. And then they have been sued.
July 23, 2008
Christopher Mitchell appeared on the Mark Heaney Show on Air America Radio to discuss the Monticello Fiber Net lawsuit and the importance of publicly owned broadband networks. Download the 10 minute discussion on mp3.
Much misinformation has been disseminated about Burlington Telecom (BT).
Here are the facts. BT is a city department of Burlington, Vermont, which owns a fiber-to-the-home network and offers triple play services (phone, cable, internet). The network depends entirely on subscriber revenues and is not subsidized in any form by the City. BT has saved the City money while being built entirely with investor money -- no tax dollars have been or will be used.
BT remains current on its debt service, is adding 40 subscribers a week and has a take rate above 40% in the area it first began offering services.
Fiber-optic networks have sufficient capacity to offer many tens of thousands of channels. Communities across the United States are building these networks to make sure they remain relevant in the digital economy. So, when a community builds a fiber-optic network, who decides what content is offered?
June 11, 2008
Christopher Mitchell Discusses Broadband on KFAI
Christopher Mitchell was featured on "Truth to Tell," an hour long program on KFAI, a radio station broadcasting in the Twin Cities. Listen to Mitchell discuss municipal broadband networks via a stream on KFAI or download an mp3. We cut, spliced, and trimmed the interview into a short version (22 min) but are also making the full version (60 min) available.
This policy brief examines the broadband options available to communities and examines their tradeoffs. Wireless offers mobility, but only fiber solves speed and capacity concerns.
This brief examines how one community in Vermont solved its broadband problems and created a new revenue source by building a city wide fiber optic network.
"Asking for federal help in solving the U.S. broadband problem is like asking Microsoft to take the lead on ensuring universal program interoperability: They don’t see the situation clearly, they’re predisposed to underestimate the problem because they created the circumstances that caused it, and any fixes they offer may well make the problem worse."
There seems to be a rather wide range of interpretations of what constitutes public broadband...Perhaps it is time for those of us who advocate municipal broadband to more clearly explain what we mean by “public.”