Here is an interesting article about San Francisco’s city-wide fiber loop and their city’s pledge to bring fiber to every building. This would be the first American city to treat internet as a utility similar to water and electric. I wonder if San Leandro will follow as a smart city. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/01/09/will-san-franciscos-city-wide-fiber-optic-network-succeed-10-tech-pros-weigh-in/#5d920ba65cda
The New York Times had a thought-provoking piece called Cities to Untangle Traffic Snarls, With Help From Alphabet Unit. The story noted that the Transportation Department announced the seven finalist Cities, including our neighbor San Francisco. Our own San Leandro, as most cities these days, are part of the evolution of what it means to…
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Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter and the San Leandro City Council announced that the City’s Information Technology Division has been honored with a national award from the Center for Digital Government. This annual survey recognizes leading examples of U.S. cities that use technology to improve services and boost efficiencies. San Leandro was selected because of its…
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Another fascinating podcast from Community Broadband Networks: Ammon, Idaho, continues to quietly build a future-looking open access fiber network. Though the City won’t be providing services directly to subscribers, the network it is building and the model it has created could revolutionize public safety. There are two podcasts and more in the Ammon story. The…
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Residential customers ask if or when we’ll reach into the neighborhoods. It’s a long way off, given the small size of our organization. Meanwhile, technology continues its pace forward with more reasons to have faster access and questions about how today’s business models will evolve in the future. First, What’s up with 4K Video? helps…
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Community Broadband Networks‘ Podcast 172 is on Open Access Engineering Options, a slightly technical but interesting discussion on being a service provider. http://muninetworks.org/sites/www.muninetworks.org/files/audio/comm-bb-bits-podcast172-tim-pozar-open-access.mp3 From the program description: The holy grail of Internet access for many of us continues to be a situation in which multiple providers can compete on a level playing field, which should…
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The Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy published a great “compendium of resources and approaches” to developing a state-level broadband policy. It starts with the basics: Why Broadband Policy Matters, then goes comprehensively through Elements of a Good Broadband Policy, ending with Conclusions.
For our neighboring and distant communities seeking a fiber network, Community Broadband Networks has a great article, Want a Gig? Ask Consultants the Right Questions, on asking the right questions first. This is not a binary question of “should we” (usually meaning: do it all at once) but rather more like finding a custom fit…
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Good news for community leaders! Gig.U and the Benton Foundation have published a guide: “The Next Generation Network Connectivity Handbook: A Guide for Community Leaders Seeking Affordable, Abundant Bandwidth” (PDF). This is a handbook for city officials seeking the affordable, abundant bandwidth their communities will need to thrive in the decades ahead. Designed for local…
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Remember that post from last March, in which the City Council approved funds for Wi-Fi downtown? It’s here! Coverage is all around the Pelton Center and along Parrott St. between E. 14th St. and Washington Avenue. We’re proud of the City for implementing this. Join us next Wednesday, 29 July, at 6pm when the service…
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