Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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CORRECTED -- Cooperatives Fiberize Rural America: A Trusted Model for the Internet Era
More than 110 rural electric co-ops have embarked on fiber optic projects to increase Internet access for their members, a number that is growing rapidly from just a handful in 2012. Thirty-one percent of the fiber service available in rural areas is provided by rural cooperatives. Personal anecdotes from Michigan, Virginia, Minnesota, and Missouri residents attest to the far-reaching benefits of cooperatives’ expansion into Internet service. A new map shows where rural cooperatives are planning to expand fiber Internet service. Co-ops have proven that this is a model that works.
Open Access Networks Increasingly Attract Private Investment (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 11:16Episode 5, "From Crops to Co-ops" Animated Video Series, The Cooperative Option (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 11/13/2019 - 17:08Fact Sheet: Frontier Has Failed Rural America
Despite raking in hundreds of millions in government broadband subsidies, Frontier Communications has failed time and time again to bring reliable, high-speed connectivity to the rural communities it serves. Instead of investing in network upgrades, Frontier has neglected its rural infrastructure to the detriment of its subscribers and the company’s own financials, with its worsening service quality paralleling its plummeting stock value.
Envisioning the Future with Jon Sallet from the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 38 (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 11/06/2019 - 13:51Episode 4, "From Crops to Co-ops" Animated Video Series, When the Lobbyist Came to Town (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 11/06/2019 - 13:43Animated Video Series Explores Rural Connectivity: "From Crops to Co-ops" (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 10:18![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/ilsrlogo400x400_2.png?itok=69V52AET)
Municipal Fiber Networks Power Digital Inclusion Programs
Digital inclusion is the practice of ensuring digital equity, a condition in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in our society, democracy, and economy. To succeed, digital inclusion practitioners must address the many barriers to digital equity, including unaffordable broadband subscriptions, lack of access to devices, and insufficient digital skills. Communities with publicly owned networks are well-positioned to develop digital inclusion initiatives.