Press Release

An annual survey has found that independent businesses had strong sales growth over the holidays and appear to be benefitting from growing public interest in supporting locally owned retail stores, banks, restaurants, and other enterprises.

The survey, which was conducted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in partnership with several business associations, gathered data from 1,768 independent businesses across 49 states over an 8-day period in January. More

“Thirty years ago renewable energy was a novelty,” says John Farrell, author of the new report, Democratizing the Electricity System: A Vision for the 21st Century Electric Grid.  “Twenty years ago it was little more than a cottage industry.  Today the $100 billion renewable energy industry threatens to overturn the bigger-is-better foundation of the existing, 20th century electricity system.” More

ILSR has released the Community Broadband Map, showing the location of over one hundred communities that have rejected the tyranny of existing carriers and built their own networks.  Along with the map, ILSR has released a report, Publicly Owned Broadband Networks: Averting the Looming Broadband Monopoly.

“The Community Broadband Map reveals the depth and breadth of publicly owned networks,” says Christopher Mitchell, Director of ILSR’s Telecommunications as Commons Initiative.  More

While the rest of the world is working to become more innovative and competitive, the North Carolina General Assembly is considering a bill that will stifle innovation, hurt job creation and slow economic development. The Bill, H129/S87 will effectively prevent any community from building a broadband network and impose onerous restrictions on existing networks.ILSR is helping groups in North Carolina to stop this bill from becoming law. More

For the fourth year in a row, a national survey of independent businesses has found that those in communities with an active "buy local" campaign have experienced markedly stronger revenue growth compared to those located in areas without such a campaign. The survey, which was conducted over an 8-day period in January, gathered data from 2,768 independent businesses, including retailers, service providers, restaurants and others.  It found that those in places with a "buy local" initiative reported revenue growth of 5.6% on average in 2010, compared to 2.1% for those elsewhere. 

A large majority of respondents said that public awareness of the benefits of supporting locally owned businesses had increased in the last year, and business owners who are involved in "buy local" campaigns reported a wide range of benefits to their business, including greater customer loyalty and more awareness among city officials.

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The Canadian province of Ontario has launched a clean energy strategy to maximize economic development while reducing pollution.  Maximizing Jobs From Clean Energy: Ontario’s ‘Buy Local’ Policy, a new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, details how Ontario’s bold clean energy program – in just over a year – has resulted in the promise of 43,000 clean energy jobs in support of 5,000 MW of clean energy projects.  More

North Carolina consumers and businesses would pay more for slower internet access when communities are preempted from building broadband infrastructure according to a new analysis released today by the Institute for Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. This analysis shows that community fiber networks are faster and cheaper than incumbent cable and telephone networks in North Carolina. More

Twin Cities Internet subscribers pay more money for slower Internet than even small towns with community owned broadband according to a new analysis by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. Over the past several years, communities in the Twin Cities have considered building their own community owned network to increase competition, lower prices, and ensure everyone has access to the connections required for success in the digital economy. The failure to do so is costing consumers and businesses millions and the Twin Cities untold amounts in lost business opportunity. More

Building on the highly acclaimed 2009 report of the same name, today the Institute for Local Self-Reliance launches Energy Self-Reliant States, a new website to provide expert analysis and policy solutions for a decentralized renewable energy future. More

The Electric Power Board (EPB) of Chattanooga, Tennessee, has announced a citywide 1 gigabit per second (1 Gbps) broadband tier, by far the fastest citywide broadband tier available in the U.S.   By the end of the year, 170,000 households and businesses in the region will have access to the fastest speeds available – at affordable rates. Christopher Mitchell, the Director of the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), recently visited Chattanooga to tour and discuss their community-owned fiber network. More