Network management

USTelecom recently released an update to its US broadband industry capital spending series. In this update, USTelecom reported that sector investment rose $1.5 billion (or 2%) between 2016 and 2017—a reversal of a two-year decline following the 2015 Open Internet Order.

Several elements involved in the deployment of Smart Cities rely on Federal Communications Commission activity or involvement. Let’s explore some of the policy issues and discussions that may be necessary to make Smart Cities happen in the near term.

The Free State Foundation is hailing the Federal Communications Commission's planned Sept 26 vote on an item regarding local franchising authorities (LFAs) as important and appropriate pushback on localities trying to re-regulate internet access.

Windsor's (MA) go-to broadband leader, Doug McNally, found himself sitting this past week with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. Not long after the introductions, Chairman Pai quoted a word McNally used to describe the impact of a newly won FCC grant. "Lifesaver," McNally had said. This past week, the former educator and current Select Board member added another description of the $886,172 grant his small Berkshire County town will receive in installments over the next decade: "Game changer." 

Cities are increasingly marketing themselves as "smart cities" — hyper-connected, sensor-equipped communities — in their latest economic development pitch to attract workers and businesses. Metropolitan areas across the country are trying to take advantage of new technologies to become more efficient and sustainable — two qualities that appeal to younger generations of workers, as well as the startups and big corporations who want to employ them.

Residents across Nashville (TN) have been waiting for the highly anticipated Google Fiber internet service since Google announced its expansion to Nashville three and a half years ago. While parts of several neighborhoods and apartment buildings have access to Google Fiber, many Nashvillians continue to renew contracts with existing providers they pledged to drop when the city rolled out its red carpet to Google.

INCOMPAS, the internet and competitive networks association, filed comments at the Federal Communications Commission in response to the Public Notice requesting information for the assessment of competition in the fixed broadband market. INCOMPAS’ comments explain that in order to formulate policies encouraging broadband competition, it is necessary to have an accurate accounting of where there is and isn’t sufficient competition across America. As such, INCOMPAS is calling upon the FCC to reform its collection of broadband data via its Form 477 proceeding.

Whenever a city wants to install high-speed Internet — be it for economic development, cost-savings for emergency responders or local schools — it must first answer a question: low or high? If a city puts its fiber cables underground, it has to close down traffic, pay the cost of digging equipment and endure the risk of unexpected obstacles like a hidden sheet of rock. If it decides to string up the fiber along utility poles, it has a lot of legal maneuvering, negotiations and paperwork ahead of it to secure permission — before it signs on to pay a leasing fee that never goes away.

Initially, Tim Berners-Lee’s innovation was intended to help scientists share data across a then-obscure platform called the Internet, a version of which the US government had been using since the 1960s. But owing to his decision to release the source code for free—to make the Web an open and democratic platform for all—his brainchild quickly took on a life of its own. Berners-Lee’s life changed irrevocably, too.

Necto, a startup which was recently accepted into Silicon Valley incubator Y Combinator, wants to make it easy for users to set up their own Internet service provider. While the type of network Necto is using isn't anything new, the company has a different business model it hopes will set it apart. Rather than charge customers for the service directly, the startup is searching for so-called operators to run private-label ISPs.