National Digital Inclusion Day Join us Friday, May 13th for the first National Digital Inclusion Day as we focus attention on empowering under-connected communities through increased internet access and usage. NDIA invites you to participate in a nationwide Twitter Town Hall at 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET to discuss the impact digital access… Keep Reading
When I look at a nutritional label on a can of soup to determine whether it has too much salt, or the label on a cereal box to parse how much sugar is added—I know that the aisles of the grocery store are filled with lots of items to pick from. And because there are… Keep Reading
CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) will need to continue to expanding its fiber networks to serve a mix of residential and business customers as it faces growing threats from upstart providers like Google Fiber (NASDAQ: GOOG) and cable operators like Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) building out into new areas. Jennifer Fritzsche, senior analyst for… Keep Reading
Over spring break I went to Stockholm to visit the future. I’m not sure other people in the U.S. think of Stockholm as the future; I’m not sure people here think about Stockholm at all. But I had an inkling that the city’s ubiquitous and cheap fiber Internet access would be making a difference right… Keep Reading
Despite the same landscape and weather challenges faced by many areas of West Virginia, in 2015, the schools in Owsley County, in the coalfield region of eastern Kentucky, did not lose any days of school to snow or inclement weather. In that same year, we were able to dramatically increase the number of students graduating… Keep Reading
The Internet has been an engine of economic opportunity worldwide, but we cannot take its success for granted. As the free exchange of information and services across borders is increasingly threatened, trade commitments among countries can serve as a powerful tool to maintain the openness that has been the hallmark of the Internet’s success. And… Keep Reading
Four Essentials for Digital Inclusion Efforts Share with: Submitted by Benton Foundation on behalf of Colin Rhinesmith on January 4, 2016 – 12:40pm Four Essentials for Digital Inclusion Efforts Four essential activities that are necessary to help low-income individuals and families adopt broadbandOver the last few months, I have been speaking with and visiting digital… Keep Reading
Bringing Broadband to Silverton January 05, 2016 by NTIA The 67 students at Silverton School, nestled in the mountains of Colorado’s San Juan County, are returning from winter break to an abundance of new educational resources. The students of Silverton School (click to enlarge) Thanks to a grant from NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP),… Keep Reading
Home Broadband 2015 The share of Americans with broadband at home has plateaued, and more rely only on their smartphones for online access BY JOHN B. HORRIGAN AND MAEVE DUGGAN Three notable changes relating to digital access and digital divides are occurring in the realm of personal connectivity, according to new findings from Pew Research… Keep Reading
It hosted the World Plowing Championship, and it has the fastest Internet speed in Canada. Yep, Internet speeds in Olds, Alberta are about 10 times faster than the rest of the country. While homes in cities like Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto are toiling with maximum speeds only up to 100 megabits per second, in Olds… Keep Reading
The Federal Communications Commission is days away from launching a new website, based on several months of beta testing and public input. BONUS: Join FCC CIO David Bray for an exclusive webcast on Dec. 16, in which he will describe how a contractor owned and operated model aided the agency in IT management and transition.… Keep Reading
MOUNTAIN VIEW, November 24, 2015 - Community broadband institutions are a key building block to accelerate deployment of high-capacity internet service, said speakers and panelists at the inaugural Anchornets conference here last week.
Such community institutions also play a vital role in facilitating public-private partnerships that aid such deployment, they said at a conference hosted by the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition at the Museum of Computer History here in the heart of Silicon Valley on Monday, November 16.
Among the high-profile leaders who emphasized the important role of schools and libraries in promoting high-speed internet service were former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Sunne McPeak, CEO of the California Emerging Technology Fund, and Evan Marwell, founder of EducationSuperhighway, a non-profit designed to promote greater internet connectivity in schools.
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Like its neighbor to the south, Portland is seeking to build a municipal broadband network to offer affordable high-speed broadband to its residents and businesses. The city last week issued a request for proposals to provide a fiber-optic connection from its buildings in downtown Portland to new municipal facilities off the peninsula on Canco Road.… Keep Reading
VIDEO: And you’d never even know they were there. Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.businessinsider.com Great video from @businessinsider on the importance of understanding maps of our broadband geography. See on Scoop.it – BroadbandPolicy Keep Reading
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California - Local broadband institutions seeking to leverage high-speed connectivity for the benefit of their broader communities will benefit from attending the inaugural AnchorNETS conference here on November 16 and 17.
Sponsored by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, the AnchorNETS conference is being hosted in conjunction with the federal government's BroadbandUSA initiative on Tuesday, November 17. The AnchorNETS event will be keynoted by former Gov. Pat Quinn, the Illinois Democrat responsible for completion of a nearly $100 million, four-year project to install 1,000 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure throughout Illinois. “Governor Quinn's role in bringing together state, federal and local resources, from private and public sectors, in the pursuit of improved digital literacy and internet connectivity to Illinois anchor institutions is a model for all public officials," said John Windhausen, executive director of SHLB Coalition.
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Chattanooga Recognized As Leader In Digital Inclusion Efforts At National League Of Cities Event Thursday, November 5, 2015 At the National League of Cities Congress of Cities event in Nashville, Chattanooga was selected as one of six winners of the inaugural Digital Inclusion Leadership Awards. From left, Deb Socia, National League of Cities; Kelly McCarthy,… Keep Reading
MDU PROGRAM REFLECTS HUGE CHANGES Owners and managers of multiple dwelling unit properties will be hearing about how the changed carrier lineup, new technology, new regulations, expanding needs to accommodate in-building cellular reception, and yes, new ways to make deployments profitable, have changed things for the better in 2016 — but have set new traps… Keep Reading
Columbia Institute for Tele-Information Annual Conference on the State of Telecom Building the Next Generation of Media: Online Platforms and Cloud Content Monday, October 19th 2015 Columbia University Campus Faculty House 64 Morningside Drive (West 116th Street) New York, NY 10027 8:30am-5:30pm Register at http://citisot2015.eventbrite.com 8:30-9:00am Registration and Breakfast 9:00-9:15am Welcome, Introduction of Topic, and… Keep Reading
Get inspired, learn and connect with expert colleagues focused on industry trends and opportunities. See leading edge technology in action and the role you can play in our innovation economy. The conference allows for an exchange of ideas that lead to actionable solutions in the community. Conference Schedule FULL SCHEDULE Connected For Good! NEXT GENERATION… Keep Reading
NEW YORK, October 13, 2015 - The battle between Verizon Communications and the Communications Workers of America escalated on Tuesday, as the union announced a new television advertisement slamming the broadband provider for failing to build-out its high-speed fiber-optic internet service here.
The advertisements come just ahead of a New York City Council hearing on Wednesday that will include the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, customers that say they have been unable to get FiOS, and from Verizon officials.
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October 13, 2015 – CustomerSuccess.Pro is researching the challenges and opportunities of broadband providers working with cities. Wired and wireless broadband providers have interacted with local government for years to obtain required permits, change zoning, negotiate leases, receive wireless siting approval, and more. As Google Fiber continues to expand its Gigabit Network footprint, many cities are… Keep Reading
LANSING, Michigan, October 13, 2015 – Nationally recognized broadband and technology experts will join local leaders, sector champions, and state innovators at the Connect Michigan broadband conference set to take place on Tuesday, October 20. Keynote speakers include Jay Elliot, technology executive and author of “The Steve Jobs Way,” and Matthew DelNero, chief of the… Keep Reading
PROVO, Utah, October 6, 2015 - One of the highest-bandwidth cities in the country will next week host the Utah Broadband Tech Summit here on Wednesday, October 14.
The event, sponsored by the Utah Broadband Outreach Center, will bring national experts from Washington together with practitioners of Gigabit Networks throughout the state
"The Utah Broadband Tech Summit is an annual event focusing on how providers and communities can work together to meet increasing infrastructure demands," said Kelleigh Cole, director of the Utah Broadband Outreach Center. "As network usage increases and devices become smarter, preparing for these advancements will give communities, businesses and individuals a competitive advantage."
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CHICAGO, Illinois, October 6, 2015 - State government need to use "Smart Cities" information technology to leapfrog to leadership among competing states, said Hardik Bhatt, chief information officer for the state of Illinois, speaking on Wednesday at the City Club here.
Bhatt, the former CIO for the City of Chicago, left municipal government for the private sector, where he managed global standards-based projects for Cisco Systems. For example, he worked to help build Hamburg into a leading port in Northern Europe, and with Brazil to help create systems to help manage large-scale public events like the 2014 World Cup and the forthcoming 2016 Summer Olympics.
Entering state government with Gov. Bruce Rauner, elected November 2014, Bhatt has established a four-year process to accelerate state adoption of "internet of things" technologies into state government.
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Editor's Note: This column, "Once 'Athens of the West,' a Kentucky city seeks revival and improvements," was originally published in the Deseret News of Salt Lake City, Utah. Here is a complete list of Drew Clark's weekly columns for the paper.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — This city now best-known for horse racing and bourbon was, 200 years ago, once described as the "Athens of the West."
And while east-central Kentucky has since gone through its economic ups and downs, last month the state's civic leaders announced an ambitious fiber-optic development project that boosters say will once again put Kentucky in the national spotlight.
Lexington enjoyed its early heyday from its founding in 1787 until the early decades of the 19th century. Its most notable resident was Henry Clay, the lawyer who became one of the three most influential national legislators (with Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun) of the antebellum era.
Clay, the founder of the Whig Party, was a vigorous advocate of the "American System" of internal improvements. Today we would describe these as infrastructure investments.
It was the internal improvement sought by Clay that made transportation possible across the Western frontier. They began creating a truly national marketplace.
Lexington bequeathed us another figure sympathetic to the Whig cause: Mary Todd Lincoln. Visiting the museum here that was her home, I learned that her father — a member of the Kentucky Legislature — frequently invited his politically minded young daughter to sit in on meetings with constituents.
Mary Todd left Lexington, or course. More than 400 miles west, in Springfield, Illinois, she met and fell in love with a more hardscrabble Kentuckian. Abraham Lincoln also was a strong proponent of "internal improvements."
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Bridging The Digital Divide | Oct. 8, 2015 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at The Washington Post Nearly every American now has access to the Internet. Yet 15 percent of adults still aren’t online. Lawmakers, city leaders, technology experts and entrepreneurs will examine obstacles to adoption and highlight efforts across the country to close the… Keep Reading
LEVERETT, Massachusetts, October 1, 2015 - The first segment of the "last mile" fiber optic network in Western Massachusetts will launch on Friday afternoon with a community event here featuring the president of the state senate, leading state broadband advocates, and an official from the U.S. Commerce Department. Dubbed LeverettNet, the municipal network is the first last mile project built off of the MassBroadband 123 fiber-optic middle mile network. MassBroadband 123 was funded by the Commerce Department's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program of the 2009 federal stimulus legislation. The middle-mile network brought fiber-optic connectivity to Leverett in early 2014. Dozens of other towns in region are planning to build additional fiber to the home last mile networks in their communities. [More...] Keep Reading
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, October 2, 2015 - The Berkman Center for Internet and Society here has launched an ambitious new dashboard designed to provide a visualization of internet health and activity.
The dashboard, which debuted at the World Economic Forum in Geneva on Monday, builds upon the prior collection of broadband data available through Internet Monitor, a project of Harvard Law School's Berkman Center.
The dashboard is a tool for policymakers, researchers and users to understand, at a glance, various metrics pertaining to broadband access and use.
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With little hope of creating new spending initiatives for broadband that require congressional approval, the White House has released a report on steps the administration could take on its own to improve programs that support broadband access for poor and geographically remote communities. The Broadband Opportunity Council released a set of recommendations earlier this week… Keep Reading
PORTLAND, Maine, September 28, 2015 – In the first significant conference following the release of the Broadband Opportunity Council Report and Recommendations, top telecommunications officials from the Obama administration — including the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture — will be speaking on Monday in Portland at “Digital New England: A Summit for Regional Broadband Leaders.”… Keep Reading
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance today releases two new rankings of America’s “25 Worst-Connected Cities in 2014” — for all households, and for households with annual incomes below $35,000. Using data from the 2014 American Community Survey (ACS) released last Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau, NDIA ranked all 184 U.S. cities with more than… Keep Reading
LEXINGTON, Kentucky, September 21, 2015 - The lieutenant governor of Kentucky, a bevy of state officials and their private sector counterparts here celebrated the finalization of the deal to build a $324 million broadband infrastructure project.
The project, KentuckyWired, is a public-private partnership (also dubbed a PPP) of the state and of the Australian financier Macquarie Capital. It is a 3,400-mile open access "middle mile" network that will span all 120 counties in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
In planning, financing and negotiating stages for nearly a year, the Macquarie project closed on September 3, 2015. Bonds are set to be issued and construction of the network - albeit in very early phases - has begun.
When completed in 2018, the network will include six fiber rings around regions of the state, and fiber connections to at least one point in every county.
The Kentucky Wired network was the highlight and toast of each of four days at the Broadband Communities economic development conference here.
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LEXINGTON, Kentucky, September 16, 2015 - Fiber-optics is now the default mode for deploying high-speed internet throughout the country, even including rural areas, said the head of the Federal Communications Commission's office of strategic planning.
"Everywhere the country [that] has been able to get an electric line, it ought to be able to get a fiber cable," said Jonathan Chambers, chief of the office, widely regarded as the FCC "think tank" for technological advancement.
Chambers, in the kick-off presentation at the Broadband Communities economic development conference here, highlighted the widespread acceptance that everyone deserved broadband deployment at speeds significantly higher than even those put forward in the National Broadband Plan five years ago.
This expectation for broadband at speeds upward of 25 megabits per second (Mbps), 100 Mbps, or 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps), Chambers said, extended even to rural areas.
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WASHINGTON, September 16, 2015 - A movement to make cities "smart" by using the power of broadband and information technology processing power is reaching critical mass, with the White House on Monday announcing a comprehensive initiative to support municipal efforts.
Coinciding with the Smart Cities Week conference here this week, the White House released a 4,000-word summary of more than $160 million in federal research investments, leveraging more than 25 technology collaborations with local communities.
The goal of these efforts? Tackling such key challenges, in the words of the White House, as "reducing traffic congestion, fighting crime, fostering economic growth, managing the effects of a changing climate, and improving the delivery of city services."
"Advances in science and technology have the potential to accelerate these efforts," read the White House statement. "An emerging community of civic leaders, data scientists, technologists, and companies are joining forces to build 'Smart Cities' – communities that are building an infrastructure to continuously improve the collection, aggregation, and use of data to improve the life of their residents – by harnessing the growing data revolution, low-cost sensors, and research collaborations, and doing so securely to protect safety and privacy."
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WASHINGTON, September 16, 2015 - State broadband entities and commissions continue to plan an important role in fostering economic development and digital learning, according to a recent report from the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy.
The report, "State-Level Broadband Policy: A Compendium of Resources and Approaches," catalogs some of the important capabilities and tools of the federal technology program dubbed the State Broadband Initiative of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
But the report, by Pell Center Adjunct Fellow Angela Siefer, also advances the discussion about state-level broadband resources by highlighting more recently discussed tools, including eRate funding, telecommunications modernization legislation, and ways to promote local infrastructure partnerships.
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Editor’s Note: Several months ago, Drew Clark's column from the Deseret News of Salt Lake City, Utah, touched upon some of the important parallels between the most prominent infrastructure investment of the 20th Century - electricity – and the emerging essential fiber-optic infrastructure of the 21st Century. With increased discussion about the significant of the applications that run Gigabit Networks, including the upcoming Broadband Communities Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, it is reprinted here.
SALT LAKE CITY — It's easy to plug a refrigerator, television, alarm clock or toothbrush into a wall socket. We forget the lesson that electricity became widely available only after a single application — the light bulb — caught the imagination and desire of the public.
Electricity is history. Today we face the next-generation infrastructure: gigabit networks. Global visionaries here in Utah see the need for these communication networks, even as they struggle to explain the "light bulb" that will make it plain why a super-fast Internet network is as necessary as running water and a universal electric grid.
One of these visionaries is Glenn Ricart, an unassuming man who moved his family here from the East Coast 20 years ago. The late Ray Noorda recruited him as chief technology officer at Novell. A renowned technologist, Ricart set up the first Internet exchange point at the University of Maryland in 1986. Two years ago, he was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame.
Ricart's recent energies have been devoted to co-founding an ambitious venture known as US Ignite. Its goal is next-generation applications with "transformative public benefit."
What are those? Of the 476 technologies submitted to US Ignite, none have yet emerged as the light bulb thatwill answer skeptics who believe a few megabits of connectivity should be enough to satisfy anyone’s need for Internet movies, music and email.
They include real-time emergency response systems, air pollution monitoring, collaborative virtual reality surgery and analyses of traffic congestion. US Ignite is particularly keen on applications that advanceeducation and workforce, energy, health care, public safety, transportation and advanced manufacturing.
In other words, said Ricart, “we exist to help cities become smarter, and help their citizens take advantage of gigabit networks.”
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WASHINGTON, September 14, 2015 – The pro-innovation advocacy organization Lincoln Labs on Monday introduced a report, “Lobbying for the Future,” which is aiming to promote policies that will benefit the companies not yet in existence. The report, co-authored by Derek Khanna, Aaron Ginn, Garrett Johnson, and Chris Adams, identifies these problems with with our existing… Keep Reading
September 14, 2015 - Every city should create a city-wide broadband plan of its own, said the former director of the National Broadband Plan, in wide-ranging speech touting four strategies useful for different types of city broadband plans.
Speaking on Friday at the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Officers annual conference in San Diego, Blair Levin of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program and the group Gig-U, said that every city should tackle four key strategies: (1) Getting fiber deeper into neighborhoods; (2) Using community WiFi; (3) Getting everyone online; and (4) Promoting innovative civic applications for broadband.
Levin, the former architect of the Federal Communications Commission's broadband plan, crafted from 2009 to 2010, said that the United States was about the 20th country to adopt such a plan for the deployment of high-speed internet. Nearly 150 countries have one now.
"With cities, we're where we were with countries in 2010. Several dozen have them," Levin said. "But now, such a plan is becoming table stakes for any city that wants its residents to be part of the 21st Century Information Economy."
In his remarks, Levin addressed the pivotal role that Google Fiber has played in spurring the development of Gigabit Networks. Indeed, on Thursday, Google announced upcoming fiber-optic deployments in three new cities: Irvine, Calif., Louisville, Kentucky; and San Diego.
He categories the types of cities, and they relative trajectories towards Gigabit Networks, as follows:
"The first set of communities is those that either have or are likely to see Google Fiber enter. For these, the starting strategy is pretty simple. Accelerate to the extent possible, Google's entry." Whether or not Google comes, such cities will be well-situated for others, as well.
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PROVO, Utah, September 11, 2015 – Utah is uniquely hospitable to entrepreneurship, and its deepening roots in software and search analytics have enabled it to become a significant technology hub, said Gov. Gary Herbert and a host of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and national journalists participating in the first annual Startfest here.
The startup festival last week featured more than 200 speakers and panels, including CEOs or top executives from Domo, Qualtrics, Pluralsight, Maritz CX, MX, Oracle, Vivint and a score of VCs.
“Utah, in a lot of ways, is a stronger and vibrant community than Austin, Texas; or Boulder, Colorado; and yet they get an insane amount of press,” said Clint Betts, the founder of the publication BeehiveStartups.com, which hosted the event.
Timed to coincide with Provo's annual "Rooftop Concert Series," showcasing local bands, and the smartphone-focused Pocket Film Fest, the event also concluded with a Google Fiber-sponsored "hackathon" devoted to helping develop applications for Gigabit fiber connectivity.
Cheerleader-in-Chief Gov. Gary Herbert
"I see Utah rising like cream to the top," said Herbert, governor of the 33rd largest state since 2009, and who is running for re-election in 2016. He kicked off the panel programs on Tuesday, September 1, with a speech followed by a question and answer session with Betts.
"That doesn't mean we don't have challenges, but we are on the right road and going in the right direction," said Herbert.
Herbert said his job is being a cheerleader for the state: "Mainly, it is making people aware that if you invest in Utah, your chances of success are greater than elsewhere."
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Editor's Note: The broadband world has lost three visionary giants over the past several months: Scott DeGarmo, Charles Benton and Don Samuelson. Each of these men had a significant impact on the world of advancing high-speed communications. Personally, each of them also had a significant impact on my professional career in broadband. I have had countless interactions with each of them over the course of many years.
SALT LAKE CITY, August 31, 2015 - I learned of the passing of Broadband Communities CEO Scott DeGarmo from pancreatic cancer two weeks ago this morning. One of my colleagues on the board of the non-profit Rural Telecommunications Congress had shared the news. His death came just one month prior to his company's next conference, "Fiber for the New Economy" in Lexington, Kentucky.
I immediately sent off my condolences -- now joined with dozens of others on the Broadband Communities web site -- to those in his company whom I have known and with whom I have interacted on my levels.
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