Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young is the lead sponsor on a bill filed yesterday that would seek a charter amendment in November 2020 to permanently revoke the authority of city officials to sell “Baltimore’s 700-mile, century-old underground conduit system, a move supporters say could encourage a public broadband system in the future.”
We need a national rural broadband plan
Assistant professor at the University of Virginia Christopher Ali wrote an op-ed in the New York Times calling for a national rural broadband plan. Ali highlighted that the lack of a national rural broadband policy is causing the United States to lose the global competition in com...
Powell may ‘start small’ with fiber-optics deal
Powell, OH, is "considering an agreement that would give the city its first fiber connection." The city’s operations committee reviewed a proposal from Consolidated Electric Cooperative "that would see Powell spending $81,650 to connect to an existing fiber-optic network for...
State-funded broadband build-outs making progress — but for lawmakers, anxiety lingers
Local residents "are beginning to see the fruits of state-funded broadband expansion efforts." While Chazy & Westport Communications announced completion of a project that expanded broadband to 620 homes and businesses, Slic Network Solutions has completed the majority of its netw...
Trump pledges investment, but is silent on key tech issues
During his State of the Union address, President Trump promised legislation to invest in "the cutting-edge industries of the future," but did not elaborate upon any technology policy issues like broadband or privacy. Following the speech, Michael Kratsios, deputy assistant to the ...
CPUC judge wants complex pole attachment issues to be even more complicated
According to a ruling by an adminstrative law judge, utility pole associations (privately and municipally owner) and telecom companies should be regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. The ruling concerns a dispute between Pacific Gas and Electric, which owns pole...
This congressman wants to build a ‘digital’ border wall that would also provide rural broadband
Texas Representative Will Hurd is partial to the idea of a digital wall: "a border-wide system of technology such as cameras, sensors, and drones communicating through a fiber optic network to keep the border secure." Hurd noted the digital wall could close the digital divide, sta...