centurylink

Quiet campaign for Longmont muni FTTH bonds

29 October 2013 by Steve Blum
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Cards not on the table yet.

Judging by the lack of ripples in cyberspace, the upcoming $45 million broadband bond election in Longmont, Colorado is not generating a boisterous debate. Granted, it’s difficult to gauge Rocky Mountain political temperatures from beachside in California, but signs of passion, pro or con, are few.

The city’s electric utility published a promotional piece that focuses on the upside of the proposed citywide fiber-to-the-home network and downplays the negatives. The brochure dissembles about the risk to electric ratepayers…

Are my electric rates expected to increase to repay this bond?

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Gigabuzz without the bits in Austin and Vegas

13 October 2013 by Steve Blum
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Not the first time the marketing department has promised the moon.

AT&T and CenturyLink are pumping up the gigabit marketing machine, without much in the way of network infrastructure to back it up.

CenturyLink says it’ll deliver a gigabit to select locations in Las Vegas this fall, without specifics on price or location. The press release does say that its previously announced fiber-to-the-premise service in Omaha will be offering service by the end of the month, but only to “targeted homes and business” customers.… More

Slow broadband a drag on Seattle mayor's re-election campaign


I’ll have what she’s having.

Seattle mayor Mike McGinn is running for re-election and the editorial page of the Seattle Times, which has never particularly cared for him, is homing in on his failure to build fiber to every home and business in the city…

With a campaign pledge of broadband Internet for all, Mike McGinn promised big, delivered small, and hopes voters won’t notice the difference.

KUOW-FM, Seattle’s University of Washington-owned NPR powerhouse, reached a similar conclusion, although in a better researched and more nuanced way…

When Mike McGinn ran for mayor in 2009, he campaigned on the promise of high-speed internet for all of Seattle.

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Incumbent carriers' response is exactly what Google intended to provoke

6 May 2013 by Steve Blum
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Google’s fantastic fiber voyage on (a long) course to a happy ending.

In the same way the tiniest virus can trigger a massive flood of antibodies, Google’s willingness to bankroll competitive – and likely money-losing – fiber to the home projects in a handful of markets is rewriting capital investment plans at major carriers.

CenturyLink’s decision to build out an FTTH network in a limited area of Omaha is, as many have pointed out, a special case.… More

Fear and economics fuel CenturyLink's Omaha FTTH test

2 May 2013 by Steve Blum
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The case for fiber converges on Omaha.

After getting stung by Google in Provo, Utah, CenturyLink will roll out fiber-to-the-home service in Omaha, Nebraska. Two key factors that will drive future FTTH deployments make this announcement more than a marketing stunt.

First, CenturyLink is targeting a particular area served by pre-DOCSIS hybrid fiber and coaxial cable system, according to a story on the Telecompetitor news site. Instead of upgrading it with better coax or trying to refurbish it in place, CenturyLink is replacing it with gigabit passive optical network (GPON) technology.… More