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Next Century Cities

Broadband Roundup/Broadband's Impact/States/Universal Service

Broadband Roundup: Francella Ochillo is New Chief at Next Century Cities, Vermont Broadband Bill, and States Ponder Telehealth

Next Century Cities on Tuesday announced that it had named Francella Ochillo as the non-profit organization’s new executive director. Ochillo, currently the Vice President of Policy and General Counsel for the National Hispanic Media Coalition, has been active in testifying before Congress, meeting with the Federal Communications Commission and participating in local events across the country… Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/Infrastructure/Smart Cities

Next Century Cities Highlights State Action for Broadband, Co-Sponsors Broadband Conference in Idaho

Next Century Cities this week highlights broadband programs in five states, in advance of the “West Central Mountains High Speed Internet Conference” on May 17 in McCall, Idaho. The Friday event is being co-sponsored by the West Central Mountains Economic Development Council and Next Century Cities. With 202 city members, the non-profit Next Century Cities… Keep Reading

Infrastructure

Livestream for Next Century Cities Broadband Event

January 15, 2019 - Below is the link to, and livestream from, the Next Century Cities event, "Opportunities for Bipartisan Tech Policy." This half-day event aims to bring together members of Congress, community leaders, and policy experts. Keynote conversations and panel discussions will work to determine key policy goals and action steps for the new… Keep Reading

Fiber/Open Access

Neighborly Launches its Broadband Accelerator with 35 Cities, Stoking Momentum for Open Access Fiber

November 16, 2018 - With the launch of a group of communities in a "broadband accelerator" launched by the municipal finance portal Neighborly, the momentum behind open access broadband networks is continuing to build. On Thursday, Neighborly announced that it had selected 35 cities, including sizable communities of Cleveland, New Orleans and Richmond, as its… Keep Reading

Infrastructure/Press Releases

Regional Broadband Conference in Connecticut on Thursday, November 8

NEW BRITAIN, Conn., November 2, 2018 - Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz is pleased to announce a broadband conference entitled, Connected New England: A Regional Broadband Convening at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Connecticut, (300 Capitol Ave.), Room 2C, on November 8, 2018, from 9:00 am – 4:30 p.m. Registration is required, but the event is free for government, academic, and non-profit employees to attend, while the registration fee for others will be $150. Press are invited to attend. The event is being co-hosted by Next Century Cities, a non-profit coalition of innovative municipalities that recognize the importance of leveraging gigabit level internet to attract new businesses and create jobs, improve health care and education, ensure civic participation, and connect residents to new opportunities. Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/Fiber/Open Access/Rural Telecom/Wireless

Community Broadband Efforts Alive and Thriving in Ohio, Maryland and Utah

PITTSBURGH, August 16, 2018 - Big telecommunications providers are not making it easy for communities to step up and offer robust broadband service, even in low-density areas that the private sector has declined to serve for years, according to experts speaking at a July 23 Next Century Cities conference here. Among the local examples: Medina… Keep Reading

Broadband Data/Broadband's Impact/FCC/Fiber/Rural Telecom/Rural Utilities Service

Rural Electric Cooperatives Pose an Obvious Solution for Deploying Fiber to Rural Areas, Says Former FCC Official

PITTSBURGH, July 31, 2018 - Rural electric cooperatives and not “small cell” deployment powered by 5G networks, may be the solution to closing the digital divide, according to Jonathan Chambers, former chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Strategic Planning. Speaking at the regional conference hosted last week here by Next Century Cities, a… Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/Digital Inclusion/FCC/Fiber/National Broadband Plan/Rural Telecom/Smart Cities/Wireless

For Robust Broadband in the 5G Era, More Local Control May Be Required

PITTSBURGH, July 30, 2018 - Many broadband experts speaking at the Next Century Cities regional summit here said last week that city jurisdiction should take precedence over federal rules in ensuring impactful broadband deployment. The conference highlighted some of these local voices, eager for broadband deployment even as they criticize recent Federal Communications Commission moves… Keep Reading

FCC/Infrastructure/National Broadband Plan

FCC Chairman Attempts to Assuage Local Government Anger Against the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2018 – In advance of the Federal Communications Commission’s open meeting on Thursday, agency Chairman Ajit Pai announced a local government representative as the new vice chair of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee. The announcement may be one more volley in the back-and-forth feud between local governments and the agency over a… Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/FCC/Fiber/Open Access/zBroadband News

Broadband Breakfast to Attend Ammon, Idaho-Next Century Cities Event on Open Access Fiber Networks

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: The long-awaited day has arrived for the "official" launch of the open-access fiber-optic network in Ammon, Idaho. This city of about 14,000 people has been making waves for some time with its unique approach to (a) providing advanced open-access technology and (b) enabling a financing model that leverages an opt-in Local Improvement… Keep Reading

Expert Opinion/Fiber/Open Access/zBroadband News

Drew Clark: Rebutting Myths About UTOPIA and Fiber Networks in Deseret News Column

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Here's my piece in the Deseret News, responding to information about the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency that simply isn't correct. I discuss why cities need to open up their thinking about using fiber as a utility, and why cities are going to be in the game for a long time yet to come.… Keep Reading

Broadband Data/Broadband's Impact/Fiber/Smart Cities

Two Municipal Broadband Groups Criticize Data and Analysis in U. Penn Paper

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2017 - Two organizations supportive of municipal broadband advocacy efforts last week issued differing reports critical of a May 24 report by a University of Pennsylvania professor. The report, by Christopher Yoo and Timothy Pfenninger, was titled “Municipal Fiber in the United States: An Empirical Assessment of Financial Performance,” and it concluded… Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/Fiber/Infrastructure/zBroadband News

Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Next Century Cities Address ‘Fiber Fallacies’ of Yoo Report

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Always important to get to the bottom of reports criticizing municipal networks in an incomplete fashion. Bravo to Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Next Century Cities for addressing these. || Addressing UPenn Report: Dud Data, Unsuitable Approach, from Institute for Local Self-Reliance: For the second week in row, our staff has felt… Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/Fiber/National Broadband Plan/Rural Telecom/Smart Cities/Wireless

Riverside County Introduces Broadband Initiative for Area the Size of New Jersey

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

Infrastructure/Press Releases

Next Century City Hosts FCC Commissioner Clyburn, Republican Congressman Biggs, and Local Leaders at Broadband Summit in Arizona

MESA, ARIZONA - Next Century Cities will host a regional broadband summit, Digital Southwest, in Mesa, Arizona from 9:00am to 5:00pm MST next Tuesday, April 18, 2017 in partnership with the City of Mesa.To watch the full event live, go to: https://livestream.com/internetsociety/digitalsw/. The Regional Broadband Summit will kick off at 9:00am MST with a keynote conversation… Keep Reading

Fiber/Infrastructure/Smart Cities

Spurning Google Fiber, Portland Suburb of Lake Oswego Pushes Toward Broadband Partnership

LAKE OSWEGO, Oregon, October 14, 2015 - This suburb of Portland, a potential candidate for Google Fiber's Gigabit-speed internet service, has said it isn't willing to wait around for the search engine giant. At a city council meeting here on Tuesday night, elected officials in this city of 37,000 listened, questioned and debated between two proposed public-private partnerships that would result in the construction of Gigabit-speed fiber-optic infrastructure. City Council Meeting in Lake Oswego, Oregon Instead of sitting and waiting for Google, the city council members appeared inclined to move forward on a public-private project with city involvement. "There was a great buzz and excitement when Google announced" the possibility that it would come to Portland, said Councilmember Jon Gustafson during the session -- but the city hasn't wasn't seen any action since that time. Last year, Google announced possible expansion to Portland and five suburbs, including Lake Oswego. The company has made commitment, however. "Google is still at the vapor stage," added Chip Larouche, chief technology officer for the city. Speaking at the Tuesday meeting, he said that Google is "talking about how 'we might make you a promise.'" Instead, City Manager Scott Lazenby said that in June Lake Oswego put out a Request for Proposals to build their own Gigabit Network. The city received two responses from private companies, and one from the City's own Public Works Department. [More... Keep Reading

Broadband Data/Press Releases

Next Century Cities: GAO Report Should Prompt Accessible Broadband Performance Information

Editor's Note: Next Century Cities released the following press release, signed by representatives of 35 of the 95 cities supporting the organization's six principles. The link to the release on the organization's web site. 35 Mayors and Elected Officials Call for Accessible Broadband Performance Information Following GAO Investigation WASHINGTON, June 17, 2015 – Today, 35… Keep Reading

Digital Inclusion/Education/FCC/Health/NTIA/Universal Service

Schools, Health and Libraries Conference a Vital Connection for Public Broadband

Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition Conference WASHINGTON, May 18, 2015 - More than five years after the unveiling of the National Broadband Plan, policy-makers and on-the-ground-advocates seeking to build better broadband networks will convene here this week at the annual conference of the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition. The conference, "Enhancing Broadband Through Innovation, Investment and Inclusion," has become the regular Washington gathering point for those engaged in public broadband initiatives. Among the keynote and plenary sessions at this year's conference include addresses by Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, former Virginia Gov. and Sen. George Allen, plus Mayor Jill Boudreau of Mount Vernon, Washington. Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/FCC/Fiber/Infrastructure

FCC to Put Its Legal Weight Behind Preemption of State Laws That Limit Community Gigabit Networks

February 3, 2015 - The Federal Communications Commission will put its legal weight behind a petition that would preempt laws in North Carolina and Tennessee  that restrict the ability of community broadband networks to expand operations. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler will urge his fellow commissioners -- and is expected to obtain support from a majority… Keep Reading

Infrastructure/Press Releases

Press Release: Kirton McConkie Presents Webinar for Municipalities on Building Gigabit Networks

SALT LAKE CITY, January 15, 2015 – President Obama’s vigorous support of a growing national movement to build Gigabit Networks highlights the need for municipalities to prepare wisely for their high-speed Internet future, said Kirton McConkie attorneys Drew Clark and David Shaw. Kirton McConkie announced a practical four-part webinar series on “How to Build Your Gigabit Network,” beginning on Tuesday, January 27, 2015, from 2 p.m.… Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact

Drew Clark: The Year of Community and Municipal Gigabit Broadband

December 18, 2014 - While net neutrality captured Washington policy headlines, the most significant communications development in 2014 was the emergence of new and more viable approaches to building community and municipal Gigabit Networks. A confluence of factors in the worlds of broadband, energy, transportation, manufacturing and civic engagement have underscored the need for next-generation internet networks. Evidence of this gathering momentum behind global Gigabit Cities include the high-profile emergence of public-private financing models and a growing network of high-bandwidth computing applications. This year's fight over net neutrality is not unrelated to the push for Gigabit Networks. The Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet proceeding is a battle over scarcity: The prioritization of traffic on lower-capacity networks. From the D.C. Circuit Court's decision striking down FCC rules in January to President Obama's decision to directly intervene in the new FCC proceeding, it's been an all-consuming public battle. But viewed from the vantage point of the future, the far more significant development will be the emergence of opportunities outside of Washington for high-capacity broadband networks. It’s a world in which cities and municipalities are playing the leadership role. [more...] Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/Expert Opinion/Fiber/Infrastructure/Innovation

Drew Clark: Cities Crave Gigabit Networks, and Meet on Monday in California to Launch ‘Next Century Cities’

October 17, 2014 - Fiber-optic communication is increasingly being recognized as a new necessity of urban life, with momentum for cities to obtain Gigabit Networks enabled by fiber is growing every week. On Monday, October 20, a new group of cities -- called Next Century Cities -- launches a "city-to-city collaboration that supports community leaders… Keep Reading

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