Clearing the way for better infrastructure in California

8 November 2013 by Steve Blum
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It costs more here.

California’s infrastructure was “designed for 25 million people”, state treasurer Bill Lockyer told an opening breakout session at the California Economic Summit in Los Angeles. The problem, he said, is that California will have 50 millon people before there’s a fix in place.

The focus was on roads and water – publicly funded projects – but it’s equally true for infrastructure that’s supported by private capital, such as telecommunications and energy.

That conversation was mostly about ways to funnel more tax dollars towards road maintenance and construction but as the conference moved on, the cost side of the equation took center stage.… More

CPUC faces a decision on broadband subsidy limits

Broadband construction subsidies are averaging $2,200 per household, as the California Public Utilities Commission works through the current round of proposals submitted for California Advanced Services Fund grants. Nine applications for last mile projects have been approved so far, with an estimated reach of 9,700 homes and totalling $21 million.

CASF approved projects, as of 31 October 2013.

The most money – $3,800 per household passed – is going to an FTTH project in the high desert town of Boron.… More

Muni broadband wins voters' hearts in Colorado but not Seattle

6 November 2013 by Steve Blum
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Filling up in Colorado, half empty and still deflating in Seattle.

Seattle voters yesterday turfed out mayor Mike McGinn, their broadband cheerleader-in-chief, giving the job to state senator Ed Murray by a preliminary margin of 56% to 43%. It was a different story in the Rocky Mountain town of Longmont, where residents overwhelmingly approved a fiber-to-the-home bond measure, 68% to 32%.

FTTH was a prominent McGinn campaign promise, both this year and in 2009, when he was elected mayor.… More

Santa Cruz broadband policy overhaul moves ahead, despite divisions

5 November 2013 by Steve Blum
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Tired of waiting for fiber.

Santa Cruz County supervisors approved an eight-month time line today for rewriting plans and rules regulating new broadband infrastructure. Originally proposed by Aptos supervisor Zach Friend, the goal is a comprehensive set of policies that shortens the approval process and ensures that broadband is an integral part of future new construction projects.

At Friend’s suggestion, the board agreed to tie broadband infrastructure plans to economic development goals. While working out the implementation details of the new broadband construction policies, staff will also be developing a master plan for new infrastructure that reflects development priorities in the county’s economic vitality strategy.… More

Santa Cruz supervisors getting update on broadband policy progress

4 November 2013 by Steve Blum
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If you’re going to dig anyway, throw in some conduit.

It’s one thing to say better broadband infrastructure needs to be encouraged and supported, and not obstructed. It’s another to actually make changes in the way governments do business. Last month, the Santa Cruz County board of supervisors approved a new set of comprehensive broadband infrastructure policies, intended to make it easier to build new facilities, now and in the future. They told county staff to come back in a month with implementation details.… More

Broadband 101 workshop in Santa Cruz looks at projects, policy


Zach and friends.

“Economic development is not just building a Costco or a car dealership”, said Santa Cruz County supervisor Zach Friend, closing out a three hour workshop on the basics of broadband development. “What we’re doing now is laying down a backbone for future economic development.”

About forty people attended event last week at CruzioWorks, including supervisors, Santa Cruz mayor Hilary Bryant and local public works and IT staff from around the county. Cruzio CEO Peggy Dolgenos was the host and emcee.… More

Prepared statements, but no prepared solutions for rural broadband development

2 November 2013 by Steve Blum
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We’ll get back to you on that.

Wednesday’s meeting between senators and house members from both parties, to discuss what’s known as the farm bill, set the table for ongoing negotiations over what’ll be in it, but didn’t otherwise show progress toward agreement. The farm bill is a trillion dollar package of subsidies for farmers, rural development projects and groceries for the millions of people in the U.S. that rely on food stamps. The house and the senate have competing versions with significant differences – including how rural broadband projects are supported, if at all – and it’s up to the farm bill conference committee to negotiate a compromise.… More

Transforming the East Bay with a 21st century broadband infrastructure

1 November 2013 by Steve Blum
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Would you allow it?

“We just cannot do this without the right infrastructure and we’ll just have to go elsewhere. We don’t want to go elsewhere, but it is what it is,” said K.G. Charles-Harris, CEO of Emanio, a Berkeley-based business intelligence company that needs two things: fat broadband pipes and the talent it attracts. “As a business guy what’s important is to invest and grow, and to invest and grow you need people.”

He was speaking at an East Bay Economic Development Alliance meeting in Pleasanton, California on Wednesday, as a regional plan for broadband infrastructure development was presented by Sunne Wright McPeak, CEO of the California Emerging Technology Fund.… More

CPUC affirms relevance of broadband pricing and caps, approves subsidies for five Californian projects

The California Public Utilities Commission said yes this morning to spending $4.8 million from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) on five rural broadband projects.
Commissioners approved the subsidies unanimously and without discussion. The resolutions included language rejecting unsupported mobile broadband coverage claims made by Verizon and indicating that the commission considers broadband pricing and data caps to be relevant issues, if not formal criteria, when it decides whether to subsidise competitive broadband projects…

In addition, while the Commission in [its decision setting out rules for the CASF program] did not include broadband performance measure other than speed, the wireless broadband service offerings include data caps and pricing that are more restrictive than the proposed project’s service offerings which has lower prices and no explicit data caps.

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CPUC rebukes Verizon, prepares to vote on five broadband projects


No point in kicking if the game is long over.

A series of procedural temper tantrums earned Verizon politely worded advice to pay attention to the rules and nothing more. In revised draft resolutions (still) recommending approval of California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) subsidies for three broadband projects challenged by Verizon, California Public Utilities Commission staff laid out what should have been done. For example, regarding a project proposed for Boonville in Mendocino County…

CD staff reminds Verizon that for all CASF project proposals, a challenge window and deadline is set up for submitting challenges on pending applications.

… More