We had a special Unbuffered podcast that looked at ICE in Minnesota
While it touched it on some of the technologies used by the government and the community, it was really about the human networks involved
You can watch the podcast in its entirety at this link youtu.be/Ar3SO89RESM?...
Yes, we often talk about infrastructure and policy
But, at its essence, we're really talking about impact on real life people, embodied in our story about Belinda whose life was transformed by a laptop & low-cost Internet service
Our story at link below ⬇️ 💻 📶
communitynetworks.org/content/cap-...
In our latest Unbuffered podcast, Roger Timmerman, CEO of UTOPIA Fiber, the nation's largest community-owned open access network, drops by to talk about UTOPIA's success story and how it was recently singled out by Ookla for its top tier performance that goes beyond speed
Will the Trump administration follow the law and release the estimated $21 billion in BEAD non-deployment funds promised by the infrastructure law?
Answers continue to be caught up delays. Our story here
Ep 2 of the new Unbuffered podcast revisits the legacy of the Telecom Act of 1996 w/former FCC Chief of Staff & now equity analyst Blair Levin
They have a candid convo on how the current FCC is "the most anti-free market FCC we've seen in our lifetime"
The $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act, which the Trump admin abruptly "terminated" last year, remains in legal limbo
Update at link below ⬇️
communitynetworks.org/content/cour...
Well, what do we have here?
A new speed analysis published by Ookla finds that municipal broadband providers consistently leave the big private Internet service provider (ISP) competition in the dust
Ep. 1 launches with a 🔥 roundtable on broadband policy, the FCC, and media consolidation
@karlbode.com, Gigi Sohn exec dir of @aapbroadband.bsky.social, @dougdawsonccg.bsky.social and @seangon.bsky.social dig into whether today’s technology ecosystem is helping or hurting the public
⚡The Unbuffered podcast is here!⚡
Host @sportshotchris.bsky.social sets the stage in Ep 0 on our new podcast will build on the legacy of Community Broadband Bits podcast while expanding the focus to include how power, policy, monopoly dynamics, and digital ecosystems shape everyday life
Always a relevant and insightful discussion whenever we have @saschameinrath.bsky.social on our podcast
Broadband ISPs should be held to a higher public interest standard and regulated like traditional utilities in California, a new joint study by nonprofit state policy news outlet Cal Matters and UC Berkeley’s Possibility Lab argues
Our story here
ICYMI:
Our joint webinar today with @aapbroadband.bsky.social focused on the promise and challenges of serving apt blds, condo complexes, and mobile home parks - where large clusters of disconnected ppl live
You can watch it in its entirety below
Lots of great insights were shared!
⚡Join us tomorrow at noon ⚡
And you can register here sites.google.com/ilsr.org/ils...
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 just turned 30
At an event organized by our friends at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society to mark the law’s passage, here's our story on what the Act's architects had to say including how legal challenges left a lasting mark on local broadband efforts
Our program director @sportshotchris.bsky.social was a guest on State Scoop's video podcast and spoke to how New Mexico is tackling Internet affordability
The Land of Enchantment created an affordable connectivity program that mirrors the federal ACP - after Congress let the federal ACP expire
⚡We've got a great line-up of folks who work on the front-lines of closing the digital divide in some of the most challenging spaces ⚡
⚡Join us & @aapbroadband.bsky.social on 3/19 for our next webinar, "High-Density, High Impact: Connecting Apartment Buildings, Public Housing and Multi-Dwelling Units”
In it, we'll dive into how local communities are focusing on where the largest numbers of disconnected Americans are clustered ⚡
Vermont's CUDs "continue to make steady inroads in delivering high-quality broadband access to long-neglected rural Vermont residents."
Read more from @communitynets.bsky.social:
communitynetworks.org/content/chit...
DOJ's recent 6th Circuit filing misspelled:
Voters as “Votors”
Emergency as "Emeregency"
United States as "United Staes"
And, it included a non-party in the caption.
These are the people who want access to your sensitive voting records and who my team fights in court every day.
Now that CNN and WBD are set to become state media in a sale to Paramount/Oracle/TikTok, it is especially important to support independent media.
Off the top of my head:
www.thehandbasket.co
404media.co
www.garbageday.email
Add your favorites in the replies. Fuck state-backed media monopolies.
The richest man owns X.
The second and third richest men control Google.
The fourth richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The fifth richest man owns The Washington Post.
And now the sixth richest could soon take over both Paramount and Warner Bros.
See the problem here?
The "need for BEAD" has always been to get durable broadband infrastructure built in places where there isn't any. If you think Starlink dishes eliminate that need, well okay, pull the plug on BEAD. (Hint: Not gonna happen!) But there's no reason to spend BEAD $$$ on Starlink marketing subsidies.
New Mexico just showed how quickly affordable legislation can pass when the stars align
Today NM Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed SB-152, creating the 1st state-level ACP-style Internet affordability program in the nation - passed in 25 days fr legislative start to finish⚡
Congrats New Mexico!
Jason Mittler returned to our podcast and joined host @sportshotchris.bsky.social to talk about how Fort Pierce, FL is expanding its fiber network
They also discuss digital equity efforts in Lincoln Park, and how municipal ownership allows the city to lower rates while strengthening its utilities
And here we have a feature story on the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa getting started on construction of a $20 million Tribally-owned network
@tribal-bb-bootcamp.bsky.social @matthewrantanen.bsky.social @sportshotchris.bsky.social
⚡We've add new features and functionality to our Community Network Map to show more detail on where (and what) publicly owned networks are across the U.S.
Today, we take a big step: adding Tribal networks serving their communities⚡
Link below ⬇️
communitynetworks.org/content/our-...
Will states get their "non-deployment" BEAD dollars to help tackle the nation's massive digital divide or will NTIA flout the law?
Our story at link below in light of recent developments 🌐⬇️
communitynetworks.org/content/ntia...
On our latest podcast, @sportshotchris.bsky.social is joined by @dougdawsonccg.bsky.social & @seangon.bsky.social to dive into the wave of major telecom mergers, what growing market power means for consumers, and dig into new research fr Chattanooga on the economic benefits of municipal fiber
🌐💻
California regulators recently signed off on Verizon’s $20 billion merger with some notable affordability conditions
Still, affordability advocates "remain concerned about the long-term impacts of major telecommunications mergers on the broadband landscape in California."
Our story here
