community networks – Page 15 – Steve Blum's Blog

Locals urge CPUC to close eastern California fiber gap

23 August 2013 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, community networks, cpuc, digital 395, escrbc, public policy

Hard to connect.

Mono County officials have come out in full support of giving another $10 million to the Digital 395 middle mile project, which would link Mono, Inyo and eastern Kern counties to major fiber hubs. Top elected officials – the board of supervisors and the sheriff – sent letters to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), as did the county administrator.

All three letters echoed the same themes: Mono and Inyo Counties would be hurt by having the fiber network split into disconnected northern and southern halves, and the loss of service to communities in the gap, particularly June Lake, would be damaging.… More

California broadband grant requests inch toward decisions

18 August 2013 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, community networks, cpuc, digital 395, golden bear, public policy, race telecommunications, viasat

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) staff have started drafting resolutions for funding at least some of the broadband infrastructure proposals submitted last February for subsidies from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF).

The fact that staff is putting the necessary paperwork together – preliminary environmental assessments and public safety impact, for example – doesn’t mean that a project will rate highly enough to be recommended, but it does mean that the preliminary task of determining whether a project is eligible for CASF money is complete, or nearly so.… More

Partnership of public and private interests floated for comprehensive fiber plan on California's central coast

15 August 2013 by Steve Blum
broadband, ccbc, community networks, public policy

Fiber for the Coast backer Bud Colligan.

Two entrepreneurs, Bud Colligan and Larry Samuels, have published a plan for improving broadband access in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties. The objective is to…

…be a foundation for an economic renaissance for all citizens of the Monterey Bay region. It can help create clean technology jobs, reduce out of region commuting and in region traffic, strengthen the tax base, and improve the educational and health care systems, all the while balancing the economic concerns with the longstanding ethos of environmental stewardship that characterizes the Monterey Bay region.

… More

California broadband subsidy debate moves behind closed doors

14 August 2013 by Steve Blum
ab1299, broadband, casf, cetf, community networks, cpuc, public policy, sb740

Waiting for the word.

Two bills that, together, will make significant changes to the way the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) operates face an uncertain future in the California legislature. Both are alive following Monday’s vote by the assembly utilities and commerce committee, but now need the blessing of key legislators to keep moving toward final approval.

Senate bill 740 adds $90 million to CASF and allows independent ISPs and cities to apply for broadband infrastructure subsidies.… More

CEO provides details on Digital 395 progess and cost overruns

13 August 2013 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, community networks, cpuc, digital 395, escrbc, public policy, race telecommunications

Yellow dots highlight unfinished business.

If the Digital 395 project doesn’t get the extra $10 million its backers are requesting from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), it will still be technically capable of providing service to some eastern California communities. Michael Ort, the CEO of Praxis Associates, gave a progress report on the project to the California Broadband Council yesterday, detailing work done so far, what’s left to do and, most importantly, why the state should spend more money to finish it.… More

Second chance for California broadband subsidies

12 August 2013 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, community networks, cpuc, public policy, sb740

It’s not pretty, but it’s alive again.

The California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) has a new lease on life. The assembly utilities and commerce committee brought senate bill 740 back from the dead this afternoon on an 11 to 4 vote. If it makes it through the rest of the legislative process, it will add $90 million to CASF and (sort of) lengthen the list of eligible applicants.

All fifteen members of the committee were on hand for the special meeting.… More

Monday is make or break day for California broadband subsidies

11 August 2013 by Steve Blum
ab1299, broadband, casf, community networks, cpuc, public policy, sb740

How many seats will be empty?

Eight members of the assembly utilities and commerce committee have to vote aye three times to resurrect a bill to top up and extend the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). A special committee meeting is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Monday, and senate bill 740, the CASF extension, is the only item on the agenda.

The first, and most important, choice committee members will make is to vote with their feet.… More

Sunday morning coming down in Sacramento

10 August 2013 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, ccta, community networks, cpuc, public policy, sb740

Jesse knew a lot about the cleanest dirty shirt.

Money is the mother’s milk of politics.
Jesse Unruh, most powerful assembly speaker in California history

Money, the kind that pays for increasingly expensive California legislative campaigns, is what gives Sacramento lobbyists power when ideas and ideals run out of steam. Voters remember the big and simple issues – say, whether to raise taxes or give hybrid cars a free pass in diamond lanes – but it’s lobbyists who meticulously track every vote on the small and complex bills that comprise the daily toil at the state capitol.… More

Latest proposed changes to California broadband subsidies a net gain, but not as much as hoped

8 August 2013 by Steve Blum
ab1299, broadband, casf, ccta, comcast, community networks, cpuc, public policy, sb740

Take the money and run.

There’s good news, good news and bad news in the latest version of senate bill 740, which renews and rewrites the rules for the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). Under a deal cut yesterday, Comcast and a lobbying organisation for the cable industry in California said they would drop their opposition to the bill in exchange for tougher restrictions on how broadband subsidy funds can be spent.

It’s good news that an extra $90 million is going into CASF.… More

Cable lobby edits California broadband subsidy bill, but at least it's moving forward again

7 August 2013 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, ccta, comcast, community networks, cpuc, public policy, sb740

You can’t have my precious.

A last minute deal was struck with the California Cable Television Association and Comcast to get their support for a bill that would add $90 million to the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) and allow independent ISPs and cities to apply for infrastructure subsidies under very tight restrictions.

Senate bill 740 stalled in an assembly committee last month after cable lobbyists carpet bombed members with phony fears about overbuilding and false claims about how many Californians lack broadband service, and how much of it they need.… More