Coalition for Local Internet Choice

On Jan 19, 2017, the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) distributed a letter to Virginia lawmakers opposing House Bill (HB) 2108. The letter was co-signed by: Atlantic Engineering, Coalition for Local Internet Choice, CTC Energy & Technology, Fiber to the Home Council, Google, Indeed, Internet Association, National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, Netflix, Next Century Cities, Nokia, OnTrac, Telecommunications Industry Association, Ting Internet, and Utilities Technology Council. The letter noted that HB 2108 would essentially ban public broadband networks and public-private partnerships and harm Virginia communities, especially rural communities, and businesses that operate in the state. CLIC, along with its co-signers, encourages the Virginia legislature to reject this harmful legislation.

[Commentary] To all:
In very rural Sibley county, in Minnesota, where I live, the vote was nearly 3 to 1 in favor of Donald Trump. Our incumbent Republicans were re-elected with ease. Yet in this very conservative county, 10 city councils and 17 of 21 rural townships have come together to support putting their tax dollars at risk to build a fiber optic network to everyone in those communities and to all area farms. I don’t even find it ironic that in the middle of this Trump heartland the overwhelming majority of voters believe broadband is so important that it transcends local, state and national politics. Why? Because they get it. They understand they will need bigger and better broadband to survive and grow.

We need to educate the incoming administration and the Republican Congress to that point so they can understand the consequences of not meeting the needs of the people who just put them in office—and that needs for advanced communications are central to the needs of rural America. Most importantly, this issue transcends party affiliation or partisanship, and should be recognized as what it is—a priority for action at the state, local, and federal levels.

[Mark Erickson -- Winthrop, MN Economic Development Authority and RS Fiber Cooperative]

Recently, the Coalition for Local Internet Choice noted our support for local decision making with respect to the “one touch” make ready processes as a way to mitigate the following common problem:

“One of the most costly, risky, and time-consuming parts of fiber optic construction is preparing utility poles for new attachments. Specifically, in order to meet safety and other codes, existing attachments (the gear that connects fiber, copper, or other plant to the pole itself, so as to hold it in place) may need to be moved up or down to make sufficient space for attachment of the new fiber. This process, known as “make-ready,” can sometimes take many months, as each attaching entity sends out a crew independently and at different times from the others to move its own attachment. Existing attachers often exacerbate these costly delays by dragging their heels in moving their facilities, as they have no desire to help new competitors enter the market rapidly.”

Now, as other cities are considering “One Touch” ordinances, CLIC reaffirms its support for local decision making and choice with regard to streamlining the make ready process, including One Touch Make Ready procedures. We hope that all affected entities will cooperate to work out the details in ways that will serve the interests of all concerned. We at CLIC support the principle of One Touch Make Ready as an exercise of local Internet choice and the core principle that local communities and their stakeholders should control their own broadband futures.

Over the next two years, the City of Madison (WI) will invest $500,000 in general obligation capital funds to experiment with a creative public private partnership to bring fiber-to-the-building services to more than 1,000 underserved families. Madison has been attacking the community’s digital divide from an anchor institution angle for years and using public-private partnerships to get there.

"[Broadband Technology Opportunities Program] layed the framework,” said Richard Beadles, Technical Services Manager for the city. Mayor Paul Soglin made digital equity a priority five years ago, and the City won a $10 million BTOP grant to build a fiber middle mile network to connect its municipal buildings and libraries, higher education, schools and other municipalities in the area. The new Metropolitan Unified Fiber Network (MUFN) was born. In exchange for using part of the network for commercial services, a company called Wisconsin Independent Network (WIN) connected all the schools and the 14 community centers to fiber and gave them free 100 Mbps symmetrical service. A non-profit called DANEnet managed the network and data communications for those community centers. Then two years ago, the City budgeted and fiber connected another 10 cultural centers. WIN was required to provide free Internet service to the centers by contract and worked with ResTech Services to provide 100 Mbps service at no cost.

“We just love it!” That was the response of Pinetops (NC) Acting Town Manager, Brenda Harrell, in response to being asked what it is like for her rural residents to now have access to Gigabit Internet speeds. In April, Wilson (NC)’s community-owned fiber network reached out, passed every home and turned on its fiber to the home service in neighboring rural Pinetops. Pinetops is located about a 20 minute drive due east from Greenlight’s operations center, but more importantly, it is in another county entirely.

Back in February 2015, the Federal Communications Commission preempted a North Carolina state law, known as H129, that prohibited Wilson from serving any residents outside of Wilson County. That preemption was the green light Wilson needed to reach out to its rural neighbors and complete a project that was stopped when H129 became law. Wilson serves six neighboring counties with its municipal electric services, including Pinetops which is located in Edgecombe County.

We are proud to announce the Coalition for Local Internet Choice. We are a diverse coalition of public and private entities who seek to protect the rights of local communities to determine their economic futures by having the right and opportunity to choose for themselves the best broadband internet infrastructure for their businesses, institutions and residents.

Why Local Internet Choice? Modern Internet infrastructure is foundational to the economic futures of our communities -- as well as the democratic discourse that thrives on the Internet. And meeting the challenge of enabling that infrastructure will require the engagement of all parties, both private and public.