Time Warner showed it wasn't afraid to flex some muscle at a recent public hearing in Wilson, NC concerning their planned deployment of a fiber optic network. Predictably, they pulled out the tired "taxpayer money" and "competing with private enterprise" lines like so many broken records. The city rightly demonstrated… Continue reading
As much as Verizon likes to hype its FIOS service, it seems to be very non-committal as to who exactly it's going to serve. It recently spun off its landline operations in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to Fairpoint Communications, a company with no plans to continue the FTTH network… Continue reading
A study by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance argues that public ownership of telecommunications infrastructure is a major boon to taxpayers and municipalities. Among the benefits are increased competition, improved local revenues, lower end-user prices, true Net Neutrality, universal access, and economic development. It seems the only losers are the… Continue reading
Don't count on Qwest to roll out universal fiber services anytime soon. Qwest has decided to take its time with FTTH projects, preferring to only roll them out to popular master planned developments as opposed to wide-spread deployment. Given that they've only recently solicited bids for a major fiber project,… Continue reading
Several news stories have come out recently showing Japan, Korea, and China not only with more broadband deployments than the US, but faster growth as well. This is in spite of efforts by large providers like Verizon and AT&T to roll out new fiber projects like FIOS and U-Verse. Japan… Continue reading
Provo took the Reason Foundation to task on its assertion that iProvo is a financial sinkhole, showing that their report was ill-founded and premature. Not only does the city defend loans from the electric fund to make bond payments, but it also shows that the demand for the kind of… Continue reading
Qwest has apparently started soliciting bids for new fiber equipment for a new major project, quite possibly a new fiber network designed to compete with projects like UTOPIA. They've already been trying out fiber in the South Jordan subdivision of Daybreak, and this would be a major escalation likely designed… Continue reading
The municipal fiber project in Wilson, NC is moving forward as the city start accepting bids on construction. Plans are to complete the network for $28M within 3 years,not too far off the mark from iProvo's network. With backing from Embarq (formerly Sprint Local), it looks like this project is… Continue reading
Lawrence Lessig, a long time technology pundit, writes in Wired this month about how he was wrong to think that regulation would solve the monopoly problem with Microsoft. He continues that train of thought by proposing that maybe Net Neutrality can be saved not by regulations, but by more open… Continue reading
UTOPIA is now starting construction on Phase 2 of the project while putting the finishing touches on the Phase 1 construction. Phase 2 will be utilizing federal grants for rural broadband, so folks in Brigham City and Tremonton can look forward to the high-speed service Real Soon Now(TM). Once construction… Continue reading