California Internet privacy bill trimmed, but not gutted

27 August 2017 by Steve Blum
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Whose choice is it?

A bill establishing strong Internet privacy rules in California has been watered down a bit, but still has teeth . Assembly bill 375, carried by Ed Chau (D – Monterey Park), would reinstate restrictions on use of customer information by Internet service providers that were scrapped at the federal level.

Originally, it required opt-in consent – an affirmative grant of permission in advance – from subscribers for any disclosure of personal information to third parties.… More

G.fast isn't so gee whiz compared to fiber, Verizon exec says

26 August 2017 by Steve Blum
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G.fast technology, which in theory allows telcos to push gigabit speeds over existing copper wire, isn’t a good substitute for fiber upgrades, according to Verizon’s director of network planning. Vincent O’Byrne, quoted in an article by Sean Buckley in FierceTelecom, said that even in multi-tenant office buildings or apartments, it’s more cost effective to install fiber all the way to the customer, than it is to bring fiber in or near a building and then use G.fast… More

Cable gains subs as consumers flee DSL

Cable companies own the residential wireline broadband market and are increasing their lead over telephone companies, at least where the major players are involved. An analysis piece by Sean Buckley in FierceTelecom breaks out the subscriber numbers for the 15 biggest Internet service providers in the U.S., ranked by total subscriber count as of 30 June 2017. It shows big cable with a 64% to 36% market share advantage and positive net subscriber growth, while big telco is stuck in reverse.… More

New Benicia broadband RFP comes with money on the table

24 August 2017 by Steve Blum
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The City of Benicia is taking another try at priming the pump for upgraded industrial and commercial class broadband infrastructure and service. A request for proposals was posted this week, backed by up to $750,000 of city money. The objectives include…

  • Specific service proposals for the Benicia Industrial Park and the adjacent Arsenal area, which, among other things, is being developed as a home for high tech start-ups.
  • Generally, improving availability of high quality managed services and unbundled network elements, such as dark fiber, throughout the City.
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Rural broadband wins a round in the battle of the Beltway swamp

23 August 2017 by Steve Blum
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I might have been wrong about Sonny Perdue. He’s the former governor of Georgia and lifelong agribusinessman that is now the Trump administration’s agriculture secretary. At the least, my critique of his background didn’t take agribusiness-as-usual into account.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is part of his domain – it’s an agency within the federal agriculture department that, among other things, gives out loans and some grants to pay for broadband service upgrades and expansion in rural areas.… More

Charter's broadband is not the help poor people need, CPUC says

22 August 2017 by Steve Blum
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But check out what’s on pay per view.

Charter Communications lost its latest battle to keep free WiFi service out of public housing in California, but the defeat came long after the war ended in victory for cable companies and their lobbying front organisation in Sacramento. It means that 47 publicly subsidised communities, scattered across the state, get to keep grant money they received from the California Advanced Services Fund to install broadband facilities. Most of them had opted for WiFi systems that would offer slow connections at no cost to residents.… More

Hope dims for good broadband policy in Sacramento

21 August 2017 by Steve Blum
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It’s an eclipse that’s shading the sun this morning, not the return of the California legislature from a month-long break. Although you might be excused for thinking so. The dismal outlook for broadband policy in the California capitol is as gloomy as the Oregon coast will be this morning. But our neighbors to the north will only have to wait a couple of minutes for the light to return. We’ll have to endure the darkness.

Three bills are pending that could shape Californian broadband policy for years to come.… More

Rural Michigan voters approve higher taxes for faster broadband

20 August 2017 by Steve Blum
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Voters in a Michigan town overwhelmingly approved adding about $22 a month to their tax bills, in order to pay for the construction costs of a municipal fiber to the home system. Lyndon Township is in a rural area of southern Michigan, where broadband service is described by a local news site as “almost entirely lacking” (h/t to MuniNetworks.org for the pointer). According to a story in the Chelsea Update by Lisa Allmendinger, the vote was 66% to 34% in favor of the property tax hike…

Based on currently available taxable valuation data for Lyndon Township, the average cost per property owner for this construction will be about $21.92 per month.

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Blocking free speech is more dangerous than suffering it

19 August 2017 by Steve Blum
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Last week, Google and GoDaddy used the power that comes with being at the center of the domain name system to block a white supremacist website. They weren’t alone in their revulsion with the ideas expressed or in taking effective action against them.

But using control over the Internet’s plumbing to censor speech – even speech as vile and disgusting as this – is a wrong and dangerous path to follow. As the Electronic Frontier Foundation explains in a blog post that gets it exactly right, a weapon that’s used in a good cause can just as easily be used for evil…

All fair-minded people must stand against the hateful violence and aggression that seems to be growing across our country.

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Cities can speed up pole attachments by new ISPs, federal judge rules

18 August 2017 by Steve Blum
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The City of Louisville, Kentucky can impose one touch make ready rules on utility pole owners, and maybe a lot of other cities can too. A U.S. district court judge threw out AT&T’s challenge to Louisville’s pole attachment ordinance on Wednesday (h/t to Ars Technica for finding the ruling). It was passed in 2016 to help clear the way for Google Fiber to begin hanging cables on poles occupied by AT&T in Louisville

Before Louisville passed its ordinance, independent ISPs had to wait for incumbent telecoms companies, like AT&T or Comcast, to move or otherwise readjust their wires to make room for the new guy – in other words do the make ready work on their own stuff.… More