Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Near the Heart of Silicon Valley, a Community Failed by the Big Internet Providers Is Building Its Own Network
Scott Vanderlip can see Google’s headquarters from his house in the town of Los Altos Hills (CA) (pop. 9,000). But still, some of his neighbors struggle to access the online world that the tech company has helped shape. Even the residents who could connect to AT&T or Comcat’s networks, such as Vanderlip, were dissatisfied with the monopoly companies’ poor service quality. So they created Los Altos Hills Community Fiber, a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation that’s bringing a local, high-quality connectivity option to the area.
How One City Is Using Wi-Fi to Connect Low-Income Families and Students (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by benton on Fri, 09/04/2020 - 06:41GATEWay Fiber is Miami Valley, Ohio's Door to the Future (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by benton on Mon, 08/31/2020 - 13:21How Cities Can Close Digital Divides During Covid — If State Law Doesn’t Stand in the Way
With the end of the federal Keep Americans Connected pledge and the failure of Congress to pass comprehensive broadband aid, it’s clearer than ever before that local governments are the last line of defense against the digital divide, which has been exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic. However, in 21 states, legal barriers — often enacted at the behest of corporate telecommunication lobbyists — prevent local governments from investing in community broadband solutions to close the digital divide.
Podcast: Is Open Access the Future? (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Thu, 08/27/2020 - 12:00Podcast | Can the People Take Power Back From Big Tech? (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Thu, 08/20/2020 - 13:10San Antonio Leverages Its Fiber Infrastructure to Extend School Networks to 20,000 Students in Need
A new initiative called Connected Beyond the Classroom will leverage city-owned fiber infrastructure and $27 million in CARES Act funds to connect students across San Antonio’s 50 most-vulnerable neighborhoods in a bid to close the digital divide and ensure teachers, students, and their parents can continue to learn this fall and beyond. While state law limits the communications services that municipal
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New 5G Rules Showing Impact in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, is currently experiencing firsthand the consequences of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC's) 2018 preemption of local governments’ authority to regulate 5G infrastructure in their cities.