Information Articles and Commentaries

In Minnesota, a de facto limit on broadband

christopher — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:47:51 -0500

The vast majority of Minnesotans, like the rest of the country, are served by only two broadband suppliers: the cable or telephone company. These companies generally want to maintain their monopolies because they can postpone upgrades while keeping prices and profits high. Just about everyone else just wants a better choice among providers.

Here in Minnesota, Monticello has broken the mold with a smart investment in a publicly owned network.

Op-Ed: Municipal fiber needs more FDR localism, fewer state bans

christopher — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:02:27 -0600

Community-owned broadband is one way to bring fiber to smaller markets, but many states restrict the practice. Researcher Christopher Mitchell argues that it's time for a bit more Roosevelt-style localism in US broadband.

Following ILSR's map showing states that preempt local authority to build Community Broadband Networks we published the following op-ed on the leading tech site Ars Technica.

Maine Needs Publicly Owned Broadband

christopher — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:39:33 -0500

Current providers won't encourage the competition necessary to improve service and cut costs.

Last January, as the economy spiraled downward, Time Warner did what no other company could have gotten away with under the circumstances: It imposed a price increase of as much as 5.5 percent on its Maine customers.

Meanwhile, the state's other major broadband Internet provider, FairPoint, has amassed a stunning track record of mismanagement and abysmal customer service.

West Virginia Gazette: Support Publicly Owned Broadband

christopher — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:23:38 -0500

Just as railroads and highways were the essential infrastructure for development in the 19th and 20th centuries, broadband networks will be essential for 21st-century competitive economies. Small cities and even isolated, rural communities that have strong educational systems and human talent will be able to compete in the new global information economy.

West Virginia's beautiful mountains and valleys, coupled with low density make most of the state an unattractive investment for private phone and cable companies. Fortunately, no community has to be left behind, each can seize the future with smart public investments.

This should not come as a surprise. Local and state governments built our roads. Thousands of rural communities gained access to electricity through publicly owned networks.

Fiber opportunity is worth the risk in North St. Paul

christopher — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:31:27 -0600

Come Tuesday, North St. Paul residents have the opportunity to become the first metro-area community with a nextgeneration network connecting every home and business. This network will offer a unique experience in the Twin Cities, an advanced broadband network similar to what tens of millions use on a daily basis across the rest of the developed world.

North St. Paul has asked its citizens to approve $18.5 million in bonds to build a fiber-to-the-home network called PolarNet. Bonds will be repaid by the revenue from citizens subscribing to phone, television, and its blazing fast Internet connection provided by an established company based in Minnesota.

Choice -- and a Voice: Broadband Advice for the Obama Administration

christopher — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:09:51 -0600

Fiber-to-the-home is essential infrastructure. Communities know they need better broadband networks. DSL is already too slow, especially on the upload side. DOCSIS3 cable networks may promise fast speeds this year and next, but ever increasing numbers of users, each inevitably increasing bandwidth utilization, will soon overwhelm this legacy shared architecture.

Our international competitors have invested in technologies that will bring very fast speeds all the way to the home. In most areas of the U.S., this can only be achieved with fiber to the home. And we can connect a fiber to every home if we make it a priority. Our geography gives us a bigger challenge than others, but we are a nation that rises to challenges.

City on Solid Ground in Lawsuit

christopher — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:06:25 -0500

At a time when most of the United States has slower, more expensive Internet connections than our overseas competitors, communities across the country have responded with initiatives to build the infrastructure of the 21st century. And then they have been sued.

Monticello is hardly the first community where an incumbent provider believes it alone should decide how that community connects to the world. Lafayette, a conservative city in Louisiana, spent several years in the courts before it could break ground on a publicly owned citywide network. Cajun culture did not allow for giving up on the project. Nice Minnesotans should do no less.

Who Decides what you can watch on your Television?

christopher — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:55:42 -0500

Broadcast spectrum is quite limited, allowing only a few channels to send signals over the air to antennas. The Federal Communications Commission decides who gets licenses to use the airwaves. Cable and satellite dishes offer more channel capacity, but the owner must still choose which channels to offer. They pick what they think their customers want to watch.

But what if there were an effectively unlimited number of channels? Welcome to the world of fiber. Fiber-optic networks have sufficient capacity to offer many tens of thousands of channels. Communities across the United States are building these networks to make sure they remain relevant in the digital economy. So, when a community builds a fiber-optic network, who decides what content is offered?

Public Ownership of Broadband Access Is Best

christopher — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:02:50 -0600

Too many cities in California are stuck with slow (or no) broadband access. As the United States continues to dip in international broadband rankings, individual communities have a choice: build their own broadband network or hope someone else does it for them.

Broadband may be comparatively new, but these difficult questions of infrastructure have been with us for far longer. One hundred years ago, communities were told electricity was too complicated for municipal meddling and they should wait for private companies to electrify them. Thousands of communities realized that a community cannot wait for essential infrastructure. They accepted responsibility for their future and wired their towns. How little has changed since then.

Fiber-Optic Networks - the Roads of the Digital Age

admin — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:09:43 -0600

The United States, birthplace to the Internet, now lags in access to it.

Countries in Asia and Europe now have faster and cheaper connections, allowing their businesses to communicate more effectively, operate on smaller budgets, and develop applications that are useless over our slower speeds. Several Minnesota cities are regaining the edge with investments in publicly owned, citywide fiber-optic networks.