Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Commissioner O'Rielly Gets Defensive When Experts Call Him Out
In Oct, Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O’Rielly accused municipal networks, including Chattanooga’s EPB Fiber Optics, of violating the First Amendment by limiting subscribers free speech. Journalists and organizations who know better were quick to correct him. In a Dec 13, 2018 blog post, he lashed out at his critics and tried to defend or explain his earlier comments, but once again missed the mark.
Creative Funding Sources For Fiber Infrastructure (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 11/27/2018 - 14:54Tax Change Deters Rural Co-ops From Expanding Internet Access
Recent tax code changes might prevent co-ops from connecting more rural communities. Cooperatives could potentially lose their tax exempt status if they accept government grants for broadband expansion and disaster recovery — an unintended yet foreseeable consequence of the Republican “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” passed late in 2017.
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/ilsrlogo400x400_0.png?itok=UtV-plPn)
Profiles of Monopoly: Big Cable & Telecom
For years, national cable and telecom companies have complained that they work in a tough industry because “there’s too much broadband competition.” Such a subjective statement has created confusion among subscribers, policymakers, and elected officials. Many people, especially those in rural areas, have little or no choice.
Mapping The Urban-Rural Digital Divide In Georgia
At the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, we create maps analyzing publicly available data to show disparities in access and highlight possible solutions. We've recently taken an in-depth look at Georgia and want to share our findings with two revealing maps. According to the Federal Communications Commission's 2018 Broadband Deployment Report, 29.1 percent of the state's rural population lacks broadband access, but only 3 percent of the urban population shares the same problem. Cooperatives and small municipal networks are making a difference in several of these rural communities.
Owensboro, Kentucky, Headed For Spring FTTH Expansion (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by benton on Wed, 01/31/2018 - 12:09New Map From Institute for Local Self-Reliance: More Than 750 American Communities Have Built Their Own Internet Networks (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Tue, 01/23/2018 - 16:56Arlington, Virginia, Delivers Digital Inclusion (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Tue, 01/09/2018 - 16:21Comcast Buys Elections To Prevent Competition In Seattle, Fort Collins
This election season, Comcast is once again devoting funds to an investment it considers necessary - influencing elections in Seattle (WA) and Fort Collins (CO). In Seattle, Comcast and CenturyLink have donated $50,000 to a political action committee that supports a candidate opposed to publicly owned Internet infrastructure. In our analysis, we’ve run a range of possible scenarios and offered both a conservative Comcast loss estimate and figures based on higher loss of subscribership.