BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Even in areas where information technology is booming, like Utah, it's important to consider the impact that the adoption of broadband technology will have on those who are "less connected." A look at how Digital Inclusion applies in Utah. || Increasing Digital Inclusion In Utah: 'The more the tech community understands digital inclusion… Keep Reading
DALLAS, May 5, 2017 - Open access networks are becoming more real for gigabit connectivity in the United States, according to panelists attending the Broadband Communities Summit here this week. The conference was notable in having numerous, positive discussions of the "three-tiered" model: One entity owns the fiber infrastructure, a second entity operates the gigabit… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: An example of the convergence of the Washington and Silicon Valley elites, in the form of technology and broadband taking over (at least one portion of) our world. || Campaign and White House veterans who in years past would have turned their resumes & connections into cushy jobs are headed west to… Keep Reading
In the battle to deploy broadband, cooperatives (co-ops) can be a decisive force to cover the rural flanks in states with aggressive broadband adoption goals such as California, New York, and Minnesota. In the more rural states, or ones without stated commitments to broadband, co-ops may have to carry the lion’s share of responsibility if… Keep Reading
DALLAS, May 1, 2017 - One of the biggest puzzles in broadband today is a financial conundrum: Our nation needs next-generation networks everywhere, but advanced internet capacity is spotty at best. One solution to the problem of financing universal broadband networks -- on display in Ammon, Idaho -- will be presented at the Rural Telecommunications… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: A new report from the Haas Institute raises the question that's been lurking behind the important-to-significant fiber rollouts over the past decade by Verizon, Google and AT&T: Are these providers cherry-picking their neighborhoods? This report drills deeply into AT&T's deployment. || Digital Divide in California, by the Haas Institute: Californians need high-speed… Keep Reading
DALLAS, April 25, 2017 - What kind of workplaces and economic environment are rural areas likely to experience in the future? At the Rural Telecommunications Congress program here at the 2017 Broadband Communities Summit next week, two of the sessions on Wednesday, May 3, will feature address that question. First, we'll hear a "case study"… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 25, 2017 – The Federal Communications Commission announced that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will speak Wednesday afternoon at the Newseum, at an event hosted by the free-market Freedom Works, to lay out his approach to reversing the agency's "open internet" order under his predecessor, former Chairman Tom Wheeler. The event will be livestreamed… Keep Reading
RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA, April 19, 2017 - At 7,200 square miles, this Southern California county is nearly the size of New Jersey. On April 3, the county put out a "Request for Participants" in an effort to jump-start a $2 billion to $4 billion initiative building a gigabit fiber network. The project is dubbed RIVCOConnect, and represents… Keep Reading
You are invited to join NTIA’s BroadbandUSA team today for a webinar discussing: Strategies for Broadband Adoption and Digital Inclusion in Rural Communities Date: Wednesday, April 19, 2017 Time: 2:00pm ET Overview: This webinar will focus on strategies to promote broadband adoption and digital inclusion in rural communities highlighting the role of libraries and university… Keep Reading
DALLAS, April 18, 2017 - Over the past ten years, broadband mapping has gone through many changes. In the beginning, the Federal Communications Commission collected data about high-speed internet access, but didn't release any local or granular data collected through its semi-annual forms. Through the efforts of organizations like BroadbandCensus.com (the predecessor to BroadbandBreakfast.com), a… Keep Reading
DALLAS, April 18, 2017 - The Universal Service Administrative Corporation may not grab broadband headlines, but the once-obscure federal agency is central to helping rural America and other stakeholders get Broadband Broadband, Better Lives. USAC's programs, plus its "new look," will be the subject of the lead panel at the Rural Telecommunications Congress happening here… Keep Reading
DALLAS, April 6, 2017 - The Rural Telecommunications Congress program at the 2017 Broadband Communities Summit here on May 1-4, 2017, will feature panelists on the Universal Service Administrative Corporation's role in bringing broadband to underserved and unserved communities, the role of broadband mapping in today's telecommunications ecosystem, a case study of bringing broadband to… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2017 - Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai defended his very vision of the agency’s role, as compared with his predecessor, during the first Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing this year. The difference in attitude between Pai and former Chairman Tom Wheeler on broadband deployment highlighted the differences between the two. “High-speed… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: This came out just over a month ago, but is well worth highlighting. Ammon, Idaho, has developed a model that helps to break apart the closed-box model of the vertically-integrated communications providers. This article on Muni Networks well encapsulates some of the ways that Ammon's network os so revolutionary. Ammon Launches Its… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Another possible success story from Appalachia, where local utilities are stepping up to the plate and making fiber the new utility for middle America. Morristown And Newport Buddy-Up For Broadband In Rural TN, from MuniNetworks.org Morristown Utilities Commission (MUC) and Newport Utilities (NU) in Tennessee have taken the first monumental step in… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Great piece from Ozy, a publication about which we weren't familiar until this article, about the need for, and power of, broadband in rural communities. This, if anything, is an issue that blue states and red states can unite upon! The Battle for the Internet in Rural America, from Ozy So much… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 8, 2017 - Despite high hopes that President Trump’s campaign promise for a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill would lead to additional investment in high-speed internet access, it appears that broadband deployment and accessibility is taking a back seat in Congress to brick-and mortar projects. At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing last week on improving… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: New York State continues its innovative efforts to provide broadband funding to underserved areas of the state. In addition to funding for traditional and non-traditional telecom companies, the program has received funding from the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline Program. $212 Million in Broadband Funding Awarded to 26 Carriers Including FairPoint, Frontier, and… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: Last Week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona presented Federal Communications Chairman Ajit Pai with his first opportunity to law out his vision for communications. This recap from the Benton Foundation's Robbie McBeath critiques his approach to the subject. Blame It On The Barcelona (Or Alternative Titles To Celebrate Alternative Facts) Federal Communications… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, February 28, 2017 - Plans to include broadband in a massive new infrastructure will probably take a back seat to President Trump’s security and physical infrastructure priorities in the budget blueprint he will describe during his maiden speech to a joint session of Congress tonight, multiple sources have told Broadband Breakfast News. While broadband has… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: This article in the Charlotte Observer highlights the fact that, even when people want fiber, there are inevitably logistical and infrastructure challenges that need to be managed in a fiber-to-the-home build. Both Google Fiber and AT&T are impacted by the problem. Busted water mains are the biggest problem for Google and AT&T contractors,… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 31, 2017 - Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Tuesday announced the formation of a new federal advisory committee that would seek to accelerate deployment of high-speed broadband nationwide, and to close the digital divide, by providing a model approach to deployment for municipalities. “Access to broadband is increasingly critical for all… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: The need for speed is here, and is here to stay. You don't build a next century network to accomodate the current capacity, but the capacity that people are going to be using. Here is more evidence that the future is coming sooner rather than later. AT&T says 30% of FTTH subs… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: Broadband Penetration inches toward saturation, in this new report from The Diffusion Group. Over-the-top video is now practically any everyday household option. TDG: Three-Fourths of US Broadband Households Now Have an Internet-Connected TV According to new research from The Diffusion Group (TDG), the penetration of Internet-connected TVs among US broadband households has… Keep Reading
EVANSTON, Illinois, January 30, 2017 - Benton Foundation CEO Adrianne Furniss on Monday sent the following letter to to President Donald Trump and leaders both in Congress and at the Federal Communications Commission. She wrote: Just as ten years ago when Benton Foundation Founder Charles Benton called on then-President George W. Bush to develop a national broadband… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: Some intelligence into the possible third Republican to join the Federal Communications Commission, from TVNewsCheck.com Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: Following up on the example of neighboring Kentucky, and other states, such as New York, Tennessee is engaging in and extensive broadband plan of its own - but with a twist. This program is primarily funded through tax credits. Gov. Bill Haslam announced a $45 million plan Thursday to bring broadband access… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 26, 2017 - In his first substantive action since being named to his position on Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced approval of the petition by New York State's broadband program to access the Connect America Fund. The agency's full press release is below: FCC VOTES TO EXPAND BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT IN… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 24, 2017 - The Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday voted to advance 16 bills, including several with implications for telecommunications policy. The most significant communications-related measure among the bills clearing the committee was the so-called MOBILE Now Act, sponsored by Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-South Dakota and Ranking Member Sen. Bill Nelson,… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: Great and fascinating article urging a more widespread tolerance of electronics in the courtroom, such as Tweeting. A Trial and a Twitterstorm: On Live-Tweeting From a Federal Courthouse As I walked into a federal court in Dallas last Tuesday, waiting to hear the Facebook founder’s testimony, my pockets were filled with the… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: Cleveland, through its OneCommunity non-profit fiber network, has been ahead of the curve in bring better broadband to the northeast Ohio area. Cleveland Foundation announces two Digital Excellence technology grants, from the Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland Foundation has approved two grants to launch the foundation's new Digital Excellence Initiative.… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 24, 2017 - President Trump signed several executive orders Tuesday designed to expedite energy and infrastructure projects. Although high-speed broadband internet services are not specifically mentioned in the orders, one of them, "Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals For High Priority Infrastructure Projects," (bolded below) could have an impact on projects that include broadband. The full… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: Just as the White House web site changed with the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the abundant web resources and social media content associated with the administration of former President Barack Obama is now available through the National Archives. National Archives launches Barack Obama Library website including access to archived web and… Keep Reading
BroadbandBreakfast.com would like invite you, your employees, and your clients to attend Silicon Slopes Tech Summit on January 19 - 20, 2016, at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. This is going to be a great event for the Utah's tech community, and nationwide. Publicly announced speakers include Benchmark Managing Partner Matt Cohler, StubHub… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is continuing its efforts to ensure good-quality broadband data, even as broadband policy remains undertain under the incoming presidential administration. These steps will ensure a good foundation. Building Our Next Internet Use Survey January 09, 2017 by Rafi Goldberg, Policy Analyst, Office of Policy Analysis and… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 10, 2017 – Executives of Backpage.com brought before a Senate investigative hearing on Tuesday refused to answer any lawmaker questions the company’s online classifieds, including sexually-explicit services. The executives appearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, each asserted their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The hearing came… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: A good roundup piece highlighting the crucial role that cities will play in the future of internet of things (IoT). Consumer gadgets have been the initial driver, but it is in civic applications that full potential will be realized. See Drew Clark's piece on "What the Internet of Things means for local… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: We're paying attention to the "Innovation Policy Stream" below, but this link provides a complete list to the live-streams at CES2017. The top three discussion points: Disruptive innovation, the internet of things and the sharing economy. -> Live-streamed events from CES2017 in Las Vegas Even if you can't make it to Las… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: A great article detailing the way that a rural community, even in a sparsely-populated region of Colorado, is able to make an open-access network work for the communities and residents of the region. -> Rio Blanco County Stays Relevant With Broadband, from Broadband Communities Magazine. Colorado became a hotbed of community broadband… Keep Reading